CONVERSATIONS 



ON THE 



MACKINAW AND GREEN-BAY 

IN TWO PARTS. 



BY THE AUTHOR OF 

Conversations on the Sandwich Islands Mission, Malvina 
Ashton, Naval Chaplain, 8?c. 



u Roll forward, dear Saviour, roll forward the day, 
When all shall submit, and rejoice in thy sway ! 
When white men and Indians, united in praise, 
One vast hallelujah triumphant shall raise." 



REVISED BY THE PUBLISHING COMMITTEE. 



MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL UNION. 
Depository, No. 47, Cornhill. 




1831. 



E7S 

<H%7f 



DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS to wit : 

District Clerk's Office. 
Be it remembered, that on the third day of March, A. D. 
1'831, in the fifty fifth year of the Independence of the United 
States of America, Christopher C. Dean, of the said District, has 
deposited in this Office the Title of a Book, the right whereof he 
claims as Proprietor, in the words following, viz. 

"Conversations on the Mackinaw and Green-Bay Indian Missions. 
In two parts. By the author of Conversations on the Sandwich 
Islands Mission, Malvina Ashton, Naval Chaplain, &c. 

" Roll forward, dear Saviour, roll forward the day, 
When all shall submit, and rejoice in thy sway ! 
When white men and Indians, united in praise, 
One vast hallelujah triumphant shall raise." 
Revised by the Publishing Committee." 

In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, 
entitled " An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing 
the copies of maps, charts and books, to the authors and proprietors 
of such copies, during the times therein mentioned :" and also to an 
Act entitled " An Act supplementary to an Act entitled An Act for 
the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts 
and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the 
times therein mentioned j and extending the benefits thereof to the 
arts of designing, engraving and etching historical and other prints." 

TTVO w rtAVT<* \ Clerk of the District 
JiNU. vv. UAVlfc, j of Massachusetts. 



PART I. 

LETTERS AND CONVERSATIONS ON THE 
INDIAN MISSION AT MACKINAW. 



CHAPTER I. 

u No more shall the sound of the war-whoop be heard, 
The ambush and slaughter no longer be fear'd ; 
The tomahawk buried, shall rust in the ground, 
While peace and good will to the nations abound." 

Mr. Pelham prosecuted his journey home- 
ward so much more successfully than he had 
anticipated, when he wrote hoping to meet 
the family circle at Christmas, that he arrived 
early in October, and was received by his 
brother with the strongest expressions of af- 
fection. An attachment uncommonly strong 
and tender had subsisted between them, from 
their boyish days, and from the birth of Cor- 
nelia he had manifested for her almost as 
lively concern as her parents. 

It was some time after his return before he 
felt wholly reconciled to the surprising change 
eight years had produced in the appearance 



6 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



of his little favorite ; he could hardly realize 
that the tall, blooming and dignified Cornelia, 
was the same pale, prattling little girl he had 
so often carried in his arms before he went 
away. However he migBt mourn over the 
Joss of his former plaything, he was happy to 
find he had acquired a sensible and intelligent 
companion. The more he studied the charac- 
ter of bis niece, the more deep and fervent 
were his thanksgivings to God on her account ; 
for notwithstanding the keenness of her sen- 
sibility, it was apparent to all, that in her 
habitual deportment, she was actuated by 
principle rather than feeling, the reverse of 
which he had often deplored, in many of his 
professedly religious acquaintance. 

Mrs. Claiborne heard of her brother's re- 
turn with heartfelt satisfaction } her husband 
being absent prevented her from going to wel- 
come him immediately herself. Delia and 
her brothers were very importunate in their 
requests to set off the next day to their uncle 
Pelham's, for a short risk, hoping to persuade 
both their uncles, their aunt, and cousin Cor- 
nelia, to accompany them home in a few days. 
Mrs. Claiborne could make no reasonable 
objections, and Talbot, Jerome, and Delia, 
hastened their preparations for the little jour- 
ney, and departed. 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



7 



The same evening they were presented to 
their uncle, with whom they felt intimately 
acquainted, although Talbot alone had re- 
tained any distinct recollections of him. Je- 
rome and Delia were so eager to hear him 
relate all he had seen and heard in the Indian 
country, that they were unwilling to hear any- 
thing else. Talbot as heartily longed to hear 
about the northwestern Indians, as his brother 
and sister, but being more diffident and re- 
served, he did not make so many direct efforts 
to turn the conversation into the desired chan- 
nel, as they ; but the next afternoon, when 
they succeeded, his sparkling eyes testified 
the pleasure he experienced. Their uncle 
inquired what tribe of Indians they felt most 
anxious to hear from. Jerome told him he 
wanted to hear about every tribe he had seen 
in the northwest. Cornelia expressed a wish 
to hear about Mackinaw and Green Bay. 

Mr. Pelham. They .are both places of 
deep interest to Christians. 

Mrs. Pelham. I suspeoi they have not 
long been^objects of Christian sympathy. 

Mr. P. No ; only ten years ago it was 
said the Christian Sabbath had not gone up 
so far as Mackinaw. 

Jerome. Uncle, where is Mackinaw ? 
• Mr. Pelham was sitting by the table, and 



s 



MACKINAW MISSION, 



after taking out a neat pocket atlas of the 
United States, he spread it open, saying, 
"Here it is, in the Territory of Michigan, in 
the strait of Michilimackinack, (now pro- 
nounced Mackinaw,) which connects Lake 
Huron with Lake Michigan. It is an island, 
nine miles in circumference, nearly covered 
with woods, and take it altogether, it is the 
most romantic spot I ever saw. 

Mrs. P. Do tell me, brother, if they had 
never enjoyed any religious privileges, ten 
years ago ? 

Mr. P. The first Protestant sermon ever 
preached at Mackinaw I have been told was 
delivered by the Rev. Dr. Morse, in 1820; 
the next year Rev. Dr. Yates passed a Sab- 
bath there, and preached the second sermon 
ever heard upon the island ; he felt deeply 
interested in the inhabitants, and used his in- 
fluence to obtain a religious instructer for 
them. 

Mrs. P. Did the mission at Mackinaw 
grow out of these providential visits ? 

Mr. P. Yes ; at the request of Dr. Yates, 
the Rev. Mr. Ferry paid them a visit, but 
could not find a single person who gave evi- 
dence of piety. His feelings were shocked 
by the gross wickedness of the inhabitants, 
while his heart yearned over their moral in is* 



MACKINAW MISSION 



9 



<eries. He labored unconnected with any 
society about ten months, and then received 
an appointment from the United Foreign 
Missionary Society, with instructions to estab- 
lish a mission upon the island, in the most 
economical and useful manner he could devise. 

After visiting New England, he left Massa- 
chusetts, with Mrs. Ferry, in 1823, and making 
a short stay at Albany, he arrived at Buffalo, 
the last of September, and on the first of 
October left that place in a steam boat for 
Detroit, which place they reached in three 
days. From the sixth to the nineteenth, they 
were on their way to Mackinaw, through 
severe storms and gales of wind that threat- 
ened their destruction. It was on Sabbath 
morning, the 19th of October, that Mr. Ferry 
landed at Mackinaw, as a missionary and 
superintendent of an establishment designed 
to benefit the Indians of various tribes, who 
annually resort to thatJsland. 

Jerome. Uncle, for what purpose do they 
collect at Mackinaw ? 

Mr. P. Mackinaw being the centre of the 
Fur Trade, thousands of Indians flock together 
there, to barter their peltry for other commo- 
dities. From early in the spring until the 
close of navigation in the fall, numerous bands 
of Indians collect upon the shores ; sometimes 
1* 



10 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



there are from one to two thousand at once in 
their encampments. 

Talbot. What articles of merchandize are 
carried there for purposes of trade, uncle ? 

Mr. P. Almost every kind. From this 
island the annual outfits and returns of goods 
and furs are made, to and from all the 
American trading posts upon the peninsula, 
to the north, northwest, and west ; — so that 
the missionary station on that island has 
the means of intercourse and influence with 
the Indians all around the waters of the three 
Lakes, Huron, Michigan, and Superior, and 
even beyond, north and west, to Hudson's 
Bay and the Mississippi. 

Jerome. Uncle, how can you get from 
Mackinaw to the Mississippi ? 

Mr. P. (Looking upon the map.) Here 
is Mackinaw, you must skim along near the 
coast, which makes your voyage to Green 
Bay nearly three hundred miles, yet if the 
weather proves favorable you will not be out 
generally over eight days. From Green Bay 
to the Mississippi by the Fox and Ouisconsin 
rivers, you will find but one portage, and that 
only a mile and a half between those rivers ; 
across this, you must carry your goods, &c. 
by oxen, unless, as it sometimes happens, the 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



11 



rivers are very high, when canoes may pass 
and repass. 

Cornelia. Is it not almost an untrodden 
wilderness from Mackinaw to the Mississippi? 

Mr. P. It is a dark region I will assure 
you, filled with numerous tribes of Indians in 
an uncivilized state, but being in great fear of 
the power of white men, travellers pass through 
their districts in safety, and generally find 
them harmless, and often very hospitable. 

Talbot. Uncle, is there no other way to 
carry goods and fur from Mackinaw, except 
by the one you have described f 

Mr. P. Yes, by the St. Mary, and Lake 
Superior. 

Mrs. P. It is an important and interesting 
place. I long to hear how Mr. and Mrs. 
Ferry were received. 

Mr. P. A crowd of the friends acquired 
by Mr. Ferry during his residence of ten 
months, were waiting oi>the beach to receive 
him ; the boat arrived before day-light, but 
he did not go on shore till between nine and 
ten o'clock ; the toils and dangers of their 
perilous journey were forgotten in that joyful 
moment. In the evening he preached to a 
full house. 

Delia. Was there a house prepared for 
their reception ? 



12 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



Mr. P. No ; but the agent of the Ameri- 
can Fur Company, gave them a kind invita- 
tion to make his house their home, till they 
could secure accommodations that would be 
convenient. Within a fortnight Mr. Ferry 
hired part of a house about one third of a 
mile from the village. An Indian woman 
lived in the other part of it. 

Cornelia. Had Mr. Ferry no helper in 
the mission ? 

Mr. P. No, not at first. The first week 
they received twelve scholars, and were 
obliged to refuse many who applied for admis- 
sion, because his instructions allowed none 
but full and half blooded Indians to become 
members of the mission school. His heart 
bled for those children, who were equally 
needy and wretched with the full bloods, at 
the moment he rejected them, and he wrote 
a very feeling letter to his patrons, pleading 
the cause of the white children, and those of 
remote Indian descent, and requesting per- 
mission to receive them into his family, and 
labor to prepare them for another and a bet- 
ter world. 

Jerome. How did they like the Indian " 
woman with whom they lived ? 

Mrs. P. Very well. She was kind and 
friendly, and having been engaged in the fur 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



13 



trade, her acquaintance with the Indians was 
extensive, and her influence over them very 
great ; when they returned from their hunting 
tours, she would obtain their children for the 
school. 

Talbot. Were there no other than Indian 
inhabitants at Mackinaw ? 

Mrs. P. Yes, from six to seven hundred 
persons, if you include the men in the gar- 
rison. 

Cornelia. Did the school increase fast, 
after the twelve entered it ? 

Mr. P. Yes, so that before spring they 
had between thirty and forty. 

Mrs. P. How did they manage so many 
without help ? 

Mr. P. Why they could do but little more 
than make them comfortable, for food and 
raiment, and teach them occasionally to read ; 
as for regular, systematic school instruction, 
they were unable to give that till the next 
summer, when Mr. Ferry went down to fort 
Gratiot, and Miss Osmar accompanied him 
home to Mackinaw. During the winter Mrs. 
Ferry had the assistance of an old woman 
eighty years old, grandmother to one of the 
Indian girls, who was very faithful ; and a 
pious man, who from love to the cause of 



14 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



missions labored gratuitously a considerable 
time. 

Delia. Did the children enter the school 
as destitute as those at the other missionary 
stations among the Indians ? 

Mr. P. Yes, Mr. Ferry observed at the 
time, in one of his communications, " As to 
the children we have already received, most 
of them have come to us so literally destitute 
of every thing, save rags and dirt, that we 
have had to clothe them throughout." It 
was thought by some persons that he went 
out abundantly furnished with clothing and 
other necessaries, but he soon found that he 
had not more than one quarter enough. 

Jerome. What did he do ? 

Mr. P. He economized in every possible 
way, yet I think they would have suffered 
severely if the agent of the American Fur 
Company, had not supplied their necessities 
in the most kind and generous manner. He 
offered to loan him articles, or sell them a* 
very reduced prices, as might best suit the 
views of the missionary committee. 

Mrs. P. I think there was a small mis- 
sion established at Fort Gratiot, eight or nine 
years ago, by a society in New York. 

Mr. P. The Northern Missionary Society 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



15 



established one there in 1822, and Mr. and 
Mrs. Hudson, and the same Miss Osmar who 
went home with Mr. Ferry, were the mis- 
sionaries. 

Delia. How could Miss Osmar be spared, 
uncle ? 

Mr. P. I will tell you ; Fort Gratiot was 
never considered a permanent location for a 
mission ; Mr. Hudson only hired a house and 
small farm, upon which he labored when out 
of school with his school boys. 

Talbot. Where is Fort Gratiot, uncle ? 

Mr. P. Look on the strait of St. Clair, 
at the outlet of lake Huron. 

Jerome. Here it is, Talbot — look. Uncle, 
is it a strong fortress ? 

Mr. P. It was not when I was there in 
the summer, being only surrounded by pickets, 
but government has recently ordered it to be 
made a strong post. 

Delia. Uncle, did you see any of the 
soldiers belonging to the fort ? 

Mr. P. Yes ; and some of the officers, 
and their families. 

Jerome. How do they appear, uncle ? 

Mr. P. Much as other officers of the 
army. Most of those stationed upon our 
frontiers are well educated and accomplished 



MACKINAW MiSSIOiN. 



men, and their wives and daughters patterns 
of politeness and refinement of manners, and 
when, as it sometimes happens, they are truly 
religious, there is a loveliness, a charm thrown 
about them, that is indescribable. 

Cornelia. Their situation is far from en- 
viable. 

Mr. P. Few Christians have it in their 
power to exert so wide and salutary an influ- 
ence as pious military and naval officers. 

Mrs. P. I wish they were more numerous. 
Will you tell us what became of the mission 
at fort Gratiot ? 

Mr. P. The society that originated it, 
transferred it to the United Foreign Misionary 
Society in September, 1823. ' The Commit- 
tee entered into a correspondence with intelli- 
gent and influential gentlemen in the lake 
country, who were of opinion a more eligible 
situation might be selected ; therefore the 
Board instructed Mr. Hudson to remove the 
scholars and the mission property to Mack- 
inaw. Miss Osmar removed with her schol- 
ars. 

Delia. (Looking steadfastly upon the map.) 
How very small the lake St. Clair appears 
on the map. 

Mr. P. It is a small lake, measuring only 
about thirty miles across, in any direction. 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



1; 



and yet in sailing over it, you are sometimes 
out of sight of land. 

Delia. Is it possible ? How does it hap- 
pen ? 

Mr. P. Fifteen or twenty miles will bound 
your prospect, unless the air is very clear, 
and you will see nothing but " skies above, 
and gulphy seas below," any more than you 
would in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. 

Jerome. The reason, uncle; do tell us the 
reason. 

Mr. P. The lowness of the shores is the 
cause ; the marshes spread out as far as the 
eye can reach, hardly a foot above the sur- 
face of the water. 

Talbot. Are they covered with trees ? 

Mr. P. No ; generally around the lake 
they appear like meadows, covered with the 
richest green, but after you ascend the river 
a few miles, you see patches of woods, and as 
you advance they become nearer and nearer 
together, till they lose themselves in one un- 
broken forest. 

Jerome. Uncle, what do you see upon the 
banks of the river — houses and farms? 

Mr. P. No ; only a few French and In- 
dian huts, with here and there a group of 
Indian men, women, and children. Farther 
up these waters you sometimes sail a great 
2 



18 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



distance without seeing the least trace of hu- 
man kind, then suddenly a wild Indian will 
dart out of the bushes, followed by others, 
who jump about in wild amazement at the 
sight of a steam boat, which they call a 
great canoe, and suppose it is drawn by great 
fishes under the water, in the way horses 
draw a carriage. 

Jerome. O uncle, if you ever go there 
again, do take me with you. 

Mr. P. Will you become a missionary, 
and instruct those poor savages ? 

Jerome. I long to go and sail on those 
beautiful lakes. 

Mr. P. They are beautiful, but very de- 
ceitful; you would be exposed to great peril. 

Jerome. Are storms on the lakes as bad 
as they are at sea ? 

Mr. P. Yes, far more dangerous and ter- 
rific. You have scarcely a minute's warning 
of their approach, and the most experienced 
sailors say, that all the fury of the widest 
ocean is mere mockery and play, to the 
roarings of the wind and storm upon these 
mighty lakes. 

Talbot. And yet they are constantly navi- 
gated. 

Mr. P. Yes ; by vessels of almost every 
name and form. 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



Jerome. How fast did you go in the 
steam boat ? 

Mr. P. In going up St. Clair and Hu- 
ron, we ran three hundred miles in thirty- 
six hours. 

Mrs. P. With no aid but steam ? 

Mr. P. Yes ; we spread all our sails. 

Cornelia. And almost literally " rode 
upon the wings of the wind." 

Mr. P. Our progress was rapid. 

Talbot. Uncle, are there not a great many 
islands in the lakes ? 

Mr. P. There are a considerable num- 
ber, especially near the northern coasts of 
Huron ; one of them i§ called Man-i-tau, or 
spirit island, where the Indians say the spirits 
find a home. The English own the island of 
St. Joseph, which is not far distant from the 
spirit island ; it is about twenty miles in 
length, and is a valuable, and beautiful island. 
There is a mountain in the centre, supposed 
by an Indian to contain a mine of silver, but 
as his guardian spirit would not permit him 
or any one else to work the mine, I presume 
we shall not very soon see any of the treasures 
it contains. 

Mrs. P. Brother, did you go up as far 
as lake Superior ? 



m 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



Mr. P. No ; I only went far enough to 
say I had seen the lake. 

Jerome. Are the Indians plenty around 
the northern shores of Huron, and the straits 
that lead to Mackinaw ? 

Mr. P. Yes; there are Indians of various 
tribes, and some of them very ingenious. 

Delia. In what way do they show their 
ingenuity ? 

Mr. P. In a variety of ways ; but what 
particularly struck me was the construction of 
their canoes, which for size and beauty ex- 
ceeded every kind of Indian workmanship, I 
have ever met with. I have seen eight In- 
dians in one of them paddling at once, and I 
thought of the swiftness of the arrows they 
throw. The sides of these canoes were paint- 
ed with the richest colors, in true Indian taste, 
and were really beautiful. 

Jerome. Uncle, is it not a delightful jour- 
ney to Mackinaw ? 

Mr. P. It is gratifying to persons fond of 
romantic scenery and novel adventure. 

Talbot. Is it not tremendously cold there 
in winter, uncle ? 

Mr. P. Judging from the quantity of 
wood consumed in the mission, I think it must 
be extremely cold. 

Jerome. How much do they burn, uncle ? 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



91 



Mr. P. Nearly four hundred cords ; and 
yet they use many stoves, and aim to observe 
the strictest economy. 

Cornelia** I suppose the navigable waters 
are sealed up in ice nearly half the year. 

Mr. P. Yes, the rivers are, and the lakes 
in their narrower parts, and for some miles 
from the shore generally, but the central 
parts of the lakes never freeze. 

Delia. Uncle, how many scholars did 
Miss Osmar take with her from Fort Gratiot ? 

Mr. P. I do not know the exact number, 
but I was told they were mostly Chippeways. 

Talbot. Did Mr. and Mrs. Ferry have 
no female helpers in the school, except Miss 
Osmar ? 

Mr. P. Yes ; about a month after she 
went, Miss McFarland, from Plainfield, New 
York, joined the mission, and was received 
with heartfelt pleasure. Her appointment 
was sent by the Board,, from the recommen- 
dation of Mr. Ferry. After she had been in 
her new situation a month or two, she wrote 
to her parents and remarked, " Our family 
consists of about sixty persons, with only three 
females to manage the domestic concerns, and 
one of the three must be continually employed 
in the school." After relating the labor of 
the succeeding Sabbath, describing the Sab- 
2* 



22 MACKINAW MISSION. 



bath school, public worship, &c. she adds, 
" Can time and distance ever erase from my 
memory the day on which I gave you the 
parting hand ? No, my dear parents— never 
shall I forget the sighs, the tears. But, my 
dear father, were you here, you would weep 
from a different cause ; your heart would 
bleed, to hear in the morning, at mid-day, 
and evening, the oaths of the drunkard of our 
own color, and the more hideous yells of the 
intoxicated savage." 

Mrs. P. How was it possible to stow 
away such a numerous family in only half a 
two-story house ? 

Mr. P. It is hard to tell how they were 
carried through the fatigues and embarrass- 
ments of those months. One room served for 
school-house, dining-room, and parlor, in the 
day time, and I presume it was not vacated 
at night. 

Talbot. I wonder Mr. Ferry did not pro- 
cure a more suitable house. 

Mr. P. There was not a building at that 
time upon the island more convenient and 
better adapted to the purpose than the one he 
first hired. Mr. Ferry wrote to the Board, 
and disclosed his straits ; they heartily desired 
to give him greater facilities for prosecuting 
the mission, and their anxieties to hasten re- 
lief were increased by the reception of a letter 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



23 



from a pious officer of the garrison at Sault 
de St. Marie, who, happening to be at Mack- 
inaw on business, visited Mr. Ferry, the 
school, &c. His surprise and pleasure were 
great, as he witnessed the judicious manage- 
ment of the superintendent, and the thorough 
subordination and good progress of the schol- 
ars. He also stated, without reserve, that 
there was considerable dissatisfaction ex- 
pressed on account of the exclusion of white 
children and those who were less than half 
Indian, which it is probable had some effect 
on the minds of the committee ; for in Octo- 
ber, Mr. Heydenburk was sent to them as a 
teacher, and the Board gave permission to 
have white children educated at the mission 
school. The school was soon divided ; the 
boys under Mr. Heydenburk, and the girls 
under Miss Osmar. — How do you suppose 
they contrived to teach them all, for there 
were sixty children, members of the mission, 
and forty white, from the village, as day 
scholars ? 

Mrs. P. Indeed ! I cannot tell. You 
know it is said, " necessity is the mother of 
invention ;" but I should think they must 
have been driven to their wits' end. I should 
suppose Mr. Ferry's letters must have been 
eloquent, when pleading the cause of these 
children, and the necessity of a mission house, 



24 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



Mr. P. There was a good deal of Chris- 
tian oratory in them, I assure you ; and the 
next spring he received instructions to build a 
house large enough to accommodate a family 
and school of one hundred and fifty. 

Cornelia. 1 hope, uncle, they had more 
help before they undertook their buildings. 

Mr. P. Yes ; Mr. Hudson, who had 
labored at Fort Gratiot, came to his aid as a 
farmer, and a Miss Cook as a teacher. 

Jerome. Uncle, was it not singular that a 
school of a hundred scholars should be raised 
on an island where there were only six or 
seven hundred inhabitants, and many of them 
soldiers in the Fort ? 

Mr. P. The school did not depend upon 
Mackinaw alone for scholars; they had chil- 
dren brought to them, who, before they met 
at school, had lived a thousand miles apart. 
Owing to the central situation of Mackinaw, 
children can be obtained nearly as well from 
a distance of many hundred miles, as from 
only twenty or thirty. They have had chil- 
dren in school, at once, from every band of 
Indians bordering on lakes Huron, Michigan, 
and Superior, besides some from Hudson's 
Bay, Lake Athabesco, Red River, the banks of 
the Mississippi, and other places,— including 
some from the different bands of the Ottawa, 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



25 



the Chippewa, Knisterna, Pot-o-wat-o-my, 
Win-e-ha-go, Menomemie, Sac, Fox, and 
Sioux Indians. 

Jerome. More than a dozen different na- 
tions ! 

Cornelia. What a spectacle that school 
must be. 

Mr. P. To me it was a most pleasing 
one, especially the girls' school. The schol- 
ars are not very far advanced, but they 
are prompt in their recitations, understand 
their lessons, define words, explain phrases, 
and answer miscellaneous questions, as if they 
had been trained to thinking, and had had 
their thoughts wisely directed. Of late the 
girls' school has been divided. The youngest 
division contains nearly forty children, from 
four to ten years of age, who can generally 
read tolerably well in the Testament. 

Delia. I should admire to be acquainted 
with some of the little Fox and Sac Indian 
girls. 

Mr. P. You would find them vc-ry sprightly 
and intelligent. During the first quarter after 
Mr. Heydenburk took charge of the boys' 
school, the girls of the first class in the female 
school, challenged the boys to spell with 
them. It was unexpected, and they were not 
prepared ; however, they accepted the chal- 



26 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



lenge, and -at the end of three hours, com- 
menced the combat. Fifty words were pro- 
posed, and the boys missed seven words, and 
the girls only four. From that time, such a 
spirit of emulation was excited, that it required 
great wisdom to regulate it. The boys imme- 
diately issued a challenge to spell on trial for 
a week together ; the girls accepted the chal- 
lenge, and day after day the spelling was 
continued, until Saturday, when it was de- 
cided that the girls were beaten ; for they had 
missed twenty words, and the boys but fifteen. 

The little boys' ambition was inflamed, and 
commencing with the same lessons, gone over 
by the large boys, they went on several days 
without missing a word. Six of these little 
fellows had been in school but nine months, 
and when they entered, did not know a letter. 
When Mr. Ferry was told how hard they 
studied, and how fast they learned, he held 
out a prize of a Bible, to all who entered the 
school at one particular time, from the Indian 
country, who should spell in Webster's spell- 
ing book from the nineteenth table to the list 
of common names, without missing a w 7 ord. 
Six engaged to strive for the prize, and four 
obtained it. The other two missed but one 
or two words. 

In the same term, the boys committed to 



MACKINAW MISSION. 27 

memory and recited well, from the Bible and 
Biblical questions, five thousand two hundred 
and fifty-seven verses. 

Cornelia. It is delightful employment to 
teach children who wish to excel. 

Mr. P. The missionary teachers at Mack- 
inaw thought so too. From July, 1825, to 
the end of July, 1826, the school averaged 
from eighty to ninety children. Very few 
were over fifteen, and the greater portion 
were under eleven years of age. 

Mrs. P. Days of toil, and nights of care 
and watching, must have been the lot of the 
missionaries, who provided food and raiment 
for such a family. 

Mr. P. True it was, that their labors ex- 
ceeded their strength. At one time, there 
was wanted a whole suit a-piece for thirty 
children, and only one young lady who could 
be spared to ply the needle. 

Mrs. P. Poor girl! It will never do for us 
to neglect sending a sufficient quantity of 
ready made clothes for all the Indian scholars, 
Cornelia. 

Cornelia. I have thought much of it, and 
we have agreed to make up flannel and other 
warm articles, for the Mackinaw school, in 
our little society. 

Mr. P. It is a good plan to send thick, 



28 MACKINAW MISSION. 

warm garments ; for you know the climate is 
many degrees colder than here. 

Jerome. It appears to me it must be a 
cold, gloomy place. 

Mr. P. No, no ; it is far from gloomy, 
though it is very cold in winter. In the sum- 
mer, it is a most delightful place. 

Delia. Uncle, do give us a more particu- 
lar description of the appearance of Mack- 
inaw. 

Mr. P. Perhaps I shall, after tea. 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



29 



CHAPTER II. 

'•'The Prince of Salvation is coming! prepare 
A way in the desert his blessing to share ; 
He comes to relieve us from sins and from woes, 
And bid the dark wilderness bloom like the rose." 

While they were at the tea table, Talbot 
made some remarks upon the western coun- 
try, which reminded his uncle of the promise 
he made to Delia ; and he said, I understand 
you, Talbot ; you wish me to describe the 
island of Mackinaw. 

Talbot. Yes, uncle, I should like to know 
as much about the island and the mission 
there, as you can find time and patience to 
tell me. 

Mr. P. The island is principally elevated 
ground, rising from one hundred and fifty to 
more than three hundred feet above the level 
of the surrounding water. The pinnacle of 
this elevation is a rocky summit, which appears 
like a crown or cap. In the last war, the 
British troops, somehow or other, one night, 
unperceived, drew their cannon up the steeps 
to one part of this summit, which was wrought 
into a temporary fortification ; and the next 
3 



30 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



morning demanded the surrender of the fort 
which was situated more than a mile distant? 
and on ground about one hundred and fifty- 
feet lower. The demand was of necessity 
complied with. This latter fort, still occupied 
by troops, is situated on the brow of the rock 
which forms the main body of the island^ 
about one hundred and fifty feet above the 
level of the lake, and overlooks the harbor 
and village. The harbor forms a perfect half- 
moon, three quarters of a mile from the tip of 
one horn to the other. The village lies on 
the crescent near the edge of the water, and 
under the towering rock which sustains the 
fort. 

Cornelia, Where did Mr. Ferry erect the 
mission house ? 

Mr. P. A short distance from the village 
towards the east. The prospect is delightful : 
the surrounding shores are a hard beach, cov- 
ered with bright shining pebbles, and the 
waters are so perfectly clear and pure, that 
you can discern a white handkerchief thirty 
fathoms below the surface, as clearly as you 
could at two or three feet. The waters in the 
neighboring lakes are very clear and pure. 

Cornelia. 1 have never connected the 
idea of so much beauty to the scenery around 
the mission house at Mackinaw. 



MACKTNAW MISSION. 



31 



Mr. P. I should think it had not been 
made a subject of much conversation or 
interest, till quite recently. The beauty and 
wildness of the scenery were such, that I 
hardly know whether the sensation of surprise 
or pleasure predominated. I found it a charm- 
ing spot. 

Mrs. P. What kind of building, did Mr. 
Ferry put up ? 

Mr. P. Two upright square houses, thirty- 
two by forty-four feet each, connected together 
by a building twenty-one by eighty-four feet, 
one and a half stories high, with an open 
piazza in front, eight feet deep. The school- 
rooms were divided by a partition that could 
easily be put aside, and the whole suit of 
rooms thrown together, which in that state 
served for a place of public worship on the 
Sabbath. This block of buildings was finish- 
ed in a neat but very plain manner, painted 
within and without. 

Mrs. P. How altogether unlike the mis- 
sionary buildings at the southwest. 

Mr. P. They were so, but Mr. Ferry's 
missionary plan, was as unlike that of those 
missions, as the form and size of his buildings. 

Mrs. P. In what particulars are their 
plans dissimilar ? 

Mr. P. Mr. Ferry's plan of missionary 



32 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



enterprize among the Indians in the north and 
west, embraces two kinds of establishments ; 
the one large, the other small ; the large ones 
to be located in central situations. 

Mrs. P. I presume Mackinaw was de- 
signed for a station of the first class. 

Mr. P. It was so ; and I have heard 
Magdalen Island, in Lake Superior, some- 
times called La-Point and Prairie du Chein, 
on the Mississippi, mentioned as suitable places 
for the largest establishments, and the smaller 
ones would probably become numerous, if 
the requisite means were furnished. 

Talbdt. What would be the principal de- 
sign of the largest ? 

Mr. P. Education, agriculture, and some 
of the most important mechanical arts. 

Mrs. P. Religion and morals, would of 
course become the first object in such an 
establishment. 

Mr. P. Certainly; but science and in- 
dustry, especially in a mission, would become 
handmaids to religion, as a matter of course. 
A farm and several work-shops would be 
necessary at all the large stations, which, with 
convenient buildings to accommodate a great 
boarding school, and a good supply of teach- 
ers, preachers, and other helpers, would re- 
quire large sums of money for the first few 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



33 



years ; but I trust the public will enter into 
the spirit of it, and furnish all that will be 
needful. 

Talbot. How would Mr. Ferry like to 
have the small stations managed ? 

Mr. P. He wishes to supply each with a 
preacher, and a school for the Indians in the 
neighborhood. 

Cornelia. Uncle, do not the missionaries 
experience serious difficulties in persuading 
the Indian scholars to labor cheerfully at 
Mackinaw, as well as at the other missionary 
stations ? 

Mr. P. They did so, and also from the 
removal of the children from the school, by 
their ignorant and fickle minded friends, till 
the Legislature of Michigan made provision 
for binding the scholars to the superintendent 
of the mission, by legal indentures, so that 
they cannot be taken away now, till the expi- 
ration of the time specified in the indentures. 

Mrs. P. Do any of the parents pay for 
their children's living ? 

Mr. P. Yes, and for their tuition also ; 
thirty dollars a year is the stipulated sum. 
Many of the day scholars pay tuition bills 
regularly. 

Cornelia. How large is the school at this 
jdme ? 

3* 



34 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



Mr. P. It has sometimes contained one 
hundred and sixty. I do not recollect the 
present number, but it is a very large school, 
and highly spoken of by all visitors. 

Talbot. Have they much of a farm at 
Mackinaw? 

Mr. P. There are a number of acres 
around the buildings of the mission, upon 
which they raise potatoes and other garden 
vegetables. One or two fields upon Bois 
Blanc, an island near there, are under cul- 
tivation, besides a farm on the southeast corner 
of the island, containing seventy-five acres, 
about one mile and a half from the mission 
house ; there is a poor house and a barn upon 
this farm, but the land is not very good : it is 
rocky and hard, but it " yields good crops of 
potatoes, beans, peas, oats, and grass." All 
these articles are of great importance to the 
family, besides furnishing employment for the 
boys out of school. 

Jerome. Do the missionaries keep many 
cattle ? 

Mr. P. A little more than a year ago 
they had about thirty head. 

Mrs. P. Do give us some account of the 
church, brother. 

Mr. P. It was organized in Feb. 1823, 
with eight members, including Mr. Ferry. 



MACKINAW MISSION, 



3o 



Cornelia. Before he was taken under the 
patronage of any society ? 

Mr. P. Yes ; this church has increased 
and prospered wonderfully since its formation ; 
five were added the first year after, thirteen 
in the second year, and five in the third, and 
in 1828-29, there was one of the most in- 
teresting revivals of religion, that has been 
witnessed among the heathen in this country. 

Cornelia. I w r ish you would relate some 
of the particulars of it, uncle. 

Mr. P. 1 was so much affected by the 
account of several of those heathen converts, 
that I preserved many of the most striking 
facts in writing. 

Mrs. P. A relation of their religious ex- 
perience would be very gratifying to me. 

Mr. P. I do not wish to convey the idea 
that there was anything so very remarkable 
in the exercises of these persons after the 
Holy Ghost took them in hand as an almighty 
teacher, without taking their former habits 
and characters into account. 

Mrs. P. Do read them to us, after your 
brother returns this evenjng. 

Delia. Uncle Pelham said, it was doubt- 
ful whether he returned before eight o'clock. 
Aunt, it will be a great while to wait, I hope 
he will come sooner. 



36 MACKINAW MISSION. 



They then rose from the table, and Mrs> 
Pelham taking up the Bible- said, " Brother, 
we still adhere to the old custom of attending, 
evening prayers immediately after tea." 

Mr. P. It is a good custom, and I wish 
it was universally followed. 

Mrs. P. Some object to the practice from 
the supposed difficulty of collecting the family 
at that hour. 

Mr. P. If punctuality is observed in a 
family, I think there would be fewer hindran- 
ces at that season than any /Other ; when is a 
family so easily collected and so generally, as 
at meal-time f My lot has been cast in a 
great number of different families, of various 
occupations, who aimed to keep up family 
prayer, morning and evening ; but I must 
confess that with a very few exceptions, the 
evening service has been a most unprofitable 
ceremony, and often intermitted. 

Mrs. P. How can it be otherwise than 
unprofitable, when the body and mind are ex- 
hausted with fatigue and care ? Besides, the 
heartlessness of such offerings seems almost 
an affront to the glorious Being to whom they 
are addressed. 

Mr. P. In my own case, after a day of 
bustle and toil, or severe mental labor, I fre- 
quently find my heart as destitute of moral 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



s? 



sensibility as my hands or feet, and have 
often thought as I threw myself upon my 
couch, that I was as destitute of faith and 
love as the bed I lay upon. 

Cornelia. I do believe it is very wicked 
to exhaust all our energies upon the world, 
and then engage in the service of God ; we 
ought to serve him first, and devote our best 
moments to prayer and praise, — but I have 
suffered much distress at times from such 
feelings, or rather want of feeling, as you have 
described, uncle ; and I did not know that 
any one but myself had such trials. At the 
close of a day, when I thought I had been 
employed in the service of God, I have fallen 
asleep with the thought, " I feel no love to 
God, and have grieved the Holy Spirit, and 
he is clean gone forever, without a pang or 
a tear." 

Mr. P. And have awoke praising him ! 

A blush overspread Cornelia's face, and a 
tear glistened in her eye, but she said nothing, 
and her uncle engaged in family duty. 

Soon after prayers Mr. Pelham returned 
home. Although extremely weary, he pre- 
served his accustomed cheerfulness and equa- 
nimity, without manifesting any of the im- 
patience or sullenness exhibited by some men 
when they return to their families from a toil- 



38 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



som<* journey, or a hard day's labor. But 
perhaps his cheerful, pleasant manner, was 
occasioned in part by the course pursued by 
his wife and daughter, who always met him 
with a smile, and endeavored to have home 
a comfortable, happy place. It was a stand- 
ing rule to have something warm and nice 
ready to be served the moment he was pre- 
pared to take refreshment. 

Whilst his uncle was drinking tea, Jerome 
entertained him by relating what he could 
remember of his uncle Charles's conversation, 
and afterwards, at the request of Mrs. Pelham, 
her brother-in-law, took from his pocket- 
book a little history of one of the converts at 
Mackinaw, and requested Cornelia to read it, 

Cornelia, (reading.) Me-sai-ain-see was 
born in the great wilderness south of Magda- 
len Island. 

Jerome. Uncle, where is Magdalen Island ? 
Mr. P. In the south-west part of lake 
Superior. 

Cornelia, (reads.) She received her name 
from an uncle when but a few days old, and 
he ever afterwards felt that he had a right to 
control all her actions. When a very little 
girl, she went to live with an aunt who was a 
Met-a-wee, or conjuress, and her uncle de- 
signed she should be trained for the same 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



39 



honorable office. Before she had attained 
the age of fifteen years, she had practised 
many rites and ceremonies preparatory to her 
being elevated to the state of a full priestess 
or conjuress. The summer she went to 
Magdalen Island she was busily engaged in 
the closing ceremonies prescribed to her 
order.; and had commenced the last ten 
days' singing, which preceeds the initiatory 
ceremony, when her uncle declared that he 
had been informed in a dream that she must 
not become a Me-ta-wee. About that time 
she heard of the mission school at Mackinaw, 
and conceived such an ardent desire to gain 
admittance, that she persevered in overcoming 
every obstacle that rose in her way till she 
became a member of the school. 

At the time of her entrance she could speak 
no language but that of her own tribe, the 
Ojibeway. She found patient and faithful 
teachers, who daily imparted instruction of 
the most valuable kind, which she received 
with a humble, teachable temper. It was not 
long before the truths of the Bible began to 
make a visible impression upon her mind ; 
her seriousness was deepened by hearing the 
threatenings of God denounced against the 
wicked, and shortly after, hearing a female 
praying for the poor wicked Indians in her 



40 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



own tongue, she thought, " Perhaps I am 
one of those ignorant wicked ones !" When 
Me-sai-ain-see was a little girl, she had been 
taught a few Catholic prayers, and in her 
distress she tried to recollect them, and re- 
peated all she could remember over and over 
again. Being told that God regarded no 
prayers but those that came from the heart, 
and that not one of those that came only from 
the lips would avail anything, the poor girl 
was in deep affliction. The missionaries told 
her that God looked at the thoughts and mo- 
tives, as much as he did at the actions of 
men. 

Mr. P. A very important subject. I fear 
children often think if they can hide their sins 
and follies from parents and teachers, all is 
well ; but it is not so ; sinful desires and pur- 
poses are recorded in the book of God's re- 
membrance, and cannot be blotted out more 
easily than the record of wicked actions. 
And it does seem as if the thought that no- 
thing in the whole universe can blot out the 
smallest sin from the records of this book, 
except the blood of Christ, would deter men, 
as well as children, from transgression. 

Mr. Charles P. If we would consider the 
impossibility of having one drop of this blood 
applied till a new heart is obtained, does it 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



41 



rtot seem impossible for any to rest quietly in 
an impenitent state ? 

Mrs. P. It does, indeed ; it appears this 
poor heathen girl was distressed as soon as 
she learned from the Bible her condition. 

Cornelia. (Reading.) " When this poor 
heathen heard of the law of God, she thought 
how often she had broken it, and her sins 
stared upon her in such a strong light, she 
could not rest night or day ; she saw her ex- 
posed situation and trembled, fearing the 
anger of God would be kindled upon her 
speedily. 

" In the midst of her anguish and dismay, 
the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was to 
be administered, and she was desired to assist 
in preparing the furniture of the communion 
table. She was assisted by a pious female, 
who told her that none ought ever to sit down 
to partake of that solemn ordinance, but those 
who had truly repented of sin, and loved God 
supremely. Me-sai-ain-see knew that she did 
not love God, and felt such fear that she did 
not go to sleep through the night." 

The next day, Miss Osmar read the ac- 
count in the Bible of the institution of the 
Supper, and made suitable explanations, which 
affected all the scholars, but none so deeply 
as Me-sai-ain-see. When she saw the little 
4 



42 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



church surrounding the table of their Lord ? 
and so many looking on, in their sins, like her- 
self, the anguish of her spirit was unutterable. 
But after she went home, she did what thou- 
sands of others have done, and probably mul- 
titudes have lost their souls by it. She tried 
to banish every serious thought from her 
mind, and said to herself, " Why need I feel 
so much distressed ? There are no others 
who appear to feel as I do : perhaps it is be- 
cause these things are new to me ; when I 
become used to them, they will not affect me 
so." In this way, she tried to keep down 
ber feelings, and recover her former tranquil- 
lity. Her teachers continued their kind and 
faithful instructions, which from time to time 
roused fears that she constantly struggled to 
suppress. Sometimes she succeeded in her 
attempts to keep calm, but often failed. 

At one time, fearing she should become 
deranged if she allowed herself to think so 
much about the world to come, and the awful 
consequences of dying without a new heart, 
she resolved upon trying to da what was 
right, and feel no further anxiety about 
eternity. For two or three months, she con- 
trived to lull herself into a more calm state. 
But she was again awakened to great alarm, 
by the death of a little boy in the mission 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



43 



family ; and before she had regained her 
previous indifference, she was visited by sev- 
eral of her heathen relations. 

On this occasion, Miss Osmar inquired, 
" Why she did not give them instruction ?" 
This question produced a most violent struggle 
in her mind, which had scarcely begun to 
abate, before Miss McFarland, one of her 
teachers, fell sick, and for some time was so 
ill, that her death was daily expected. Me- 
sai-ain-see went one day to attend to her little 
wants, and among other things Miss McFar- 
land said to her, " I suppose you are not wil- 
ling to have me die, but if you only had a 
good hope in the Saviour, it would not be 
long before we should meet again in heaven, 
to be forever happy together." This remark 
from her apparently dying teacher, for whom 
she felt a very strong affection, quite over- 
came her, and she resolved never to cease 
from seeking till she obtained a good hope. 
Her teacher's life was spared, and to hasten 
her recovery, a journey was proposed, and 
she was carried down to the boat, accompa- 
nied by a gentleman who had been deeply 
interested for Me-sai-ain-see's conversion. 
When the poor girl saw those faithful friends 
go on board the vessel and sail, she could not 
conceal her distress, and reproached herself 



44 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



most bitterly for neglecting to profit by all 
their counsels and prayers, and trembled for 
fear God, in his just anger, should never per- 
mit them to return to instruct such an ungrate- 
ful sinner as she felt herself to be. She be- 
took herself to prayer, and did not decline in 
this important duty for a considerable time. 
She then accidentally met one of the ladies of 
the mission, while out for a walk, who entered 
into a very solemn yet affectionate conversa- 
tion with her. Me-sai-ain-see felt distressed, 
but angry ; though she tried to hide her 
anger, yet she afterwards confessed that her 
thoughts were, " What business have you to 
talk so to me ? It don't concern you what 
becomes of my soul ; you have not got to 
suffer for my sins : Why not then let me 
alone, and not torment me ?" After the lady 
left her, and she had time for reflection, her 
load of guilt appeared greater than she could 
bear ; she felt lost and undone, and almost 
despaired of mercy. The next Saturday 
evening, there was a female prayer-meeting 
in the girls' school-room, and Miss Cook, one 
of the teachers, made very serious remarks. 
Among other things, she expressed her fears 
that some of the girls who thought themselves 
serious, were deceived. Me-sai-ain-see said 
that remark was like a knife to her heart*'* 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



43 



She went directly from the meeting to a little 
room, with two females, who had expressed 
some concern for their souls, to pray together. 
Her distress was so great, she could not con- 
tinue in the presence of any one, and retiring, 
she remained alone the whole night. The 
concern of one of her companions, who occu- 
pied a room opposite to hers, deepened. The 
cries and sobs of this friend increased the 
agony of poor Me-sai-ain-see's heart, on ac- 
count of her own sin and danger; but in the 
morning, when she found her companion had 
found peace in believing, her heart was so 
filled with envy and rebellion, that she was 
nearly beside herself. Knowing how dread- 
fully wicked such feelings were, she left the 
house with the determination to spend the day 
alone in a distant grove of cedars ; but rest- 
less and agitated, she wandered about, seek- 
ing rest, like all the wicked, but rinding none. 
Unable to shed a tear, from hardness of heart, 
her sufferings were intense from Sabbath 
morning till Tuesday night ; then Miss Os- 
mar read to her from the Bible, and con- 
versed with her whenever she was able to at- 
tend ; for some of the time she hardly knew 
who she was, or where she was. Her agita- 
tion continued till she retired. She afterwards 
said to her friends, " I got to my bed-room, 
4* 



46 



MACKINAW MISSION, 



and throwing myself upon the bed, I lay for 
some time unconscious of every thing but the 
fire within ; nor durst I even shut my eyes, 
for fear I should find myself in death, actually 
sinking into the flames of hell." After a 
while, she became calm, and in relating her 
exercises, she remarked, " I said to myself, I 
have tried every way, but all in vain. I can- 
not help myself; neither prayers nor anxieties 
do any good ; they lead to no relief. It is 
right ; it is just in God to destroy me ; I 
ought to perish. He may do what he pleases ; 
if he sends me to hell, let him do it ; and if 
he shows mercy, well ; let him do just as he 
pleases with me. Here, as in a moment, I 
had such a kind of one or whole view of my- 
self, and willingness to be in God's hands, 
that I could keep in bed no longer, and re- 
solved to go in prayer and throw myself for 
the last time at the feet of my Saviour, and 
solemnly beg of him to do what he would with 
me." At that moment, a pious Indian woman 
entered the room, and engaged in conversa- 
tion with her. The girl said, " She told me 
how easy it was to believe in the Saviour, if 
I would. She then prayed with me, and here 
I lost all my burden ; I felt light ; a strange 
feeling which I cannot describe. I had no 
thought that I loved Christ, but I was happy ; 



MACKINAW MISISON. 



47 



and yet afraid to be happy ; I was afraid to 
give indulgence to my feelings ; for it would 
be dreadful, after all, it appeared to me, to go 
to hell with no feeling of distress about it ! 
Rising from my knees, I was conscious of a 
smile upon my face, which I tried to hide." 
Just then Miss Osmar called her to her room, 
where she had prepared some warm supper 
for her, but her feelings were so intense, she 
could not taste of it. After Miss Osmar and 
Miss Cook had prayed with her, Me-sai-ain- 
see said, " Here I was filled with that happi- 
ness I hope to enjoy in heaven. I do not 
know but my enjoyment was as great as it 
was possible for my soul to have, arising from 
a view of the love, the nearness, and glory of 
the Saviour. I seemed to see it, to feel it all, 
in a fulness of joy beyond expression." The 
ladies commenced singing the hymn, begin- 
ning with 

" Alas ! and did my Saviour bleed," 

and the soul of the young convert was filled 
with the most rapturous joy. The changed 
expression of her countenance told something 
that was passing within. Miss Osmar said, 
as she ceased singing, " Can you not love this 
Saviour ?'" The poor girl ventured to say, 
" I hope I do." She said, " This was the 



48 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



first intimation I had dared to give of my 
peace of soul. But my joy had swallowed 
all my fear; and I could not resist the answer. 
Now I had such a love to all around, as well 
as for the Saviour, that I could have folded 
them to my bosom. For two days following, 
night and day, there was very little, if any, 
abatement of this happiness. I appeared to 
be in a new world ; every thing led me to 
God ; not an object did I see but seemed to 
say, how glorious and lovely is the great 
God !" From that memorable night, Me-sai- 
ain-see's life and conversation have been such 
as becometh godliness. 

For all her relations and acquaintance she 
has manifested the most anxious solicitude, 
and has exerted all her faculties to bring them 
under the means of grace, improving every 
opportunity to persuade them to give their 
hearts to God, and live and labor to promote 
his cause in the world. Her joy and peace 
in believing have been great and unusually 
constant, although at some seasons her exer- 
cises have been more joyous than others, yet, 
she says, " I have never been conscious of 
such a state of feeling since my supposed 
conversion, that I could not say from the 
heart, I am willing and ready to die for 
Christ. 5 ' 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



49 



Mr. P. If this had been the only conver- 
sion among the Indians, it would more than 
compensate for all the money and labor ex- 
pended for them the last thirty years. 

Mr. C. P. This is only one of many 
quite as interesting. 

Cornelia. Have you written accounts of 
any others, uncle ? 

Mr. C. P. Yes ; I have several. 

Mrs. P. I desire to hear them all. When 
did this girl unite with the church? 

Mr. C. P. In April, 1828. We will de- 
fer any further communications till another 
opportunity. 



50 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



CHAPTER III. 

" Slight tinctures of skin shall no longer engage 
The fervor of jealousy, murder, and rage, 
The white and the red shall in friendship be joined. 
Wide spreading benevolence over mankind. 77 

Brother, said Mrs. Pelham the next af- 
ternoon, I wish you would relate further par- 
ticulars of the revival at Mackinaw ; the con- 
version of Me-sai-ain-see seems to me to be 
an illustrious display of divine grace. 

Mr. P. I could relate other cases, es- 
pecially some that occurred among the traders 
at their distant posts, that would demonstrate 
the matchless wonders of redeeming love, 
even more signally than was displayed in the 
case of that poor girl. 

Mrs. P. Who, and where were they ? 

Mr. P. Two of them, whose knowledge 
of religion was scanty, at the time of their 
first seriousness, were partners with a com- 
pany of fur traders at La Point. It seem- 
ed very remarkable that men in their cir- 
cumstances, — surrounded by thoughtless and 
wicked men, exposed to various temptations. 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



51 



with no religious associates, should have been 
awakened, convicted, and hopefully convert- 
ed. When they came down to Mackinaw 
in the summer of 1829, both gave evidence 
of piety. After spending a Sabbath together in 
fasting and prayer, they wrote out a form of 
self-dedication to God, and each signed it in 
the presence of the other. 

Mrs. P. Surely it was the Lord's doings ! 
no human agency in the matter. 

Mr. P. There was but little, except the 
few sermons they had heard in their visits to 
Mackinaw, and a few tracts or religious books 
which had been sent to their establishment a 
few years before. During that summer other 
traders came down from remote posts, mani- 
festing more or less religious anxiety. Most 
of them expressed earnest desires to obtain 
religious instruction for themselves, and schools 
for their children — one of them generously 
offered one hundred and fifty dollars toward 
the support of a boarding school at La Point ; 
others offered to support a missionary in their 
own families* 

Cornelia. I suppose the traders exert an 
extensive influence over the mefl in their em- 
ployment. 

Mr. P. Yes ; it is almost unlimited, over 
their clerks, the subordinate traders, and a 



52 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



great portion of the Indian population in the 
interior. During the revival in the latter part 
of 1828 and 1829, religious truth was dis- 
seminated far and wide. In the summer of 
1829, almost every principal trader and many 
of the subordinate ones came down to Mack- 
inaw, and were so hungry for the bread of 
life, that they attended almost every religious 
meeting at the mission. The moral people 
in the village dreaded the annual visit of the 
traders, for it had usually been a time of dis- 
sipation, noise, and riot. But on this occa- 
sion, it was a season of real enjoyment, and 
interchange of kind feelings. Several gentle- 
men residing at Mackinaw, of much respecta- 
bility and influence, had also become pious, 
besides many members of their families, and 
other persons. These had frequent inter- 
course with the traders, and exerted the most 
favorable influence upon them. 

Mrs. P. Did the revival extend to the 
village ? 

Mr. P. Yes, and also to the garrison, and 
I have no doubt but its influence had extend- 
ed to all the different trading posts. 

Cornelia. • How did it affect the soldiers ? 

Mr. P. A few of them had already ex- 
perienced religion. From the commencement 
of the mission the officers of the fort have 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



53 



generally attended public worship with the 
soldiers, and readily granted permission to 
the men to attend other religious meetings. 
However, there have been commanders, who 
have occasionally discouraged them from at- 
tending. 

Jerome. Uncle, if missionaries should go 
up to the trading posts, how could they estab- 
lish missions without interfering with the trad- 
ing and hunting business ? 

Mr. P. The traders do not wish the In- 
dians to continue hunting through the sum- 
mer ; they would prefer to have them cultivate 
the ground. 

Jerome. If the Indians turn farmers will 
not the game disappear ? 

Mr. P. The hunters are often obliged to 
go a great distance before they can find the 
animals they are in pursuit of, so that culti- 
vating the land would not in the least inter- 
fere with the regular business of hunters and 
traders. I heartily wish they could be sup- 
plied with a missionary and a school. Such 
generosity and sensibility is rarely witnessed 
as these traders exhibited. They said if 
want of means for their support was an ob- 
jection, they would take them home, and 
support them in their own families. I do not 
know how other men feel, but I can truly say, 
5 



54 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



there is not an Indian mission under the di- 
rection of the American Board more interest- 
ing me than the one at Mackinaw. 

Cornelia. What kind of men are the 
traders ? 

Mr. P. Agreeable and intelligent. 

Delia. Uncle, how would a missionary- 
fare among them ? 

Mr. P. He would fare very well ; the 
traders live in a very comfortable manner, 
and in pretty good style, I should suppose, 
from the quantities of coffee, teas and sugar, 
they carry home with them. Their libra- 
ries, medicine chests, and articles of clothing, 
show that their comforts and necessaries are 
abundant. 

Mrs. P. I should not think a young man 
would esteem it much of a sacrifice to go and 
spend a year or two in such a family, though 
I presume the families are generally of Indian 
descent. 

Mr. P. Yes; but the men are commonly 
attached to them, and design to spend their 
days in the Indian country ; Mr. Ferry has 
married several couples since they became 
serious. 

Mrs. P. I suppose they followed the na- 
tive customs previously. 

Mr. P. I presume they did. 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



55 



Cornelia. Uncle, where do you think it 
would be best to establish a new mission at 
the north-west ? 

Mr. P. La Point, the name of the trading 
establishment on Magdalen Island, is the most 
eligible place that I know of for a large station, 
and UArbre Croche for a small one. At the 
former place there are about one hundred 
residents, besides children, to whom a preacher 
might easily gain access, and nearly five 
hundred Indians who resort to it, and remain 
for a longer or shorter period, as best suits 
their circumstances, all of whom might be 
benefited by a mission. This is the head 
quarters of one department of the American 
Fur Company. Six men are in partnership, 
whose posts are from one to two hundred 
miles distant, but at which there are no settle- 
ments, though many persons resort to them. 

Cornelia. Are there no settlements in that 
region ? 

Mr. P, Yes, within twenty or thirty miles 
there are many families, and some small 
settlements, 

Mrs. P. Are there not a multitude of 
Catholics near the borders of Canada, that 
would embarrass the operations of a mission 
in that quarter ? 

Mr. P r Yes ; the French are pretty nu- 



56 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



merous, the most of whom are Catholics ; 
many of them have been, and still are em- 
ployed by the traders; but, although they 
practise some of the rites of the Romish 
church, and have persuaded some whites and 
Indians to adopt their practices, yet most of 
the Catholics are as ignorant of the true gos- 
pel as the darkest pagan. The priests help 
to cherish the hostile feelings of those Catho- 
lic half-breeds who wish to have their children 
educated in the mission school ; in some in- 
stances the children have been removed from 
the school, because they feared the religious 
influence of missionary teachers. The recol- 
lection of the sufferings of one of the scholars 
at Mackinaw is now fresh in my memory. 
Cornelia. Uncle, do let us hear about her* 
Mr. P. A very interesting girl, to whom 
the missionaries gave the name of Nancy, 
became deeply concerned for her soul, and 
after experiencing much trouble of mind, there 
appeared to have been a very thorough change 
wrought in her character, which was no sooner 
perceived by her friends, than they laid a plan 
to withdraw her from the school, and gave 
themselves no rest till they succeeded. Jeal- 
ous of missionary influence, they carried her 
away so far into the wilderness, that it was 
supposed no farther communications could be 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



57 



made to her, from those hated persons who 
had so entirely transformed her. Her friends 
were instigated to this course by their Catho- 
lic associates. They practised every art they 
could devise, to frighten or allure her to the 
performance of Catholic and heathen super- 
stitions and ceremonies, but all was in vain. 
Enraged by disappointment, they declared 
they would " whip her to death," unless she 
complied with their requirements. 

The situation of the poor girl was very dis- 
tressing, but she could not be prevailed upon 
to swerve from what she thought to be the 
path of duty. Soon after her family were 
settled for the winter upon the hunting ground, 
her brother insisted upon her engaging in the 
customary amusements of her people, and one 
Sabbath required her to go with him and 
others to sail for pleasure ; she explained to 
him the commandment of God respecting the 
Sabbath as well as she was able, and steadily 
declined to accompany him. He became 
angry and told her in a very authoritative 
manner that she should go; she firmly refused, 
and he as firmly bade her go. With great 
mildness she told him she would never go 
upon a party of pleasure on the Sabbath wil- 
lingly ; that her feet should never carry her, 
and if he carried her without her consent, the 
5* 



58 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



sin would be his, not hers. His anger be- 
came so furious, that he used bad language, 
and pulled her ears most cruelly ; but she 
resolved to bear every thing, rather than 
grieve the Holy Spirit by disobeying the com- 
mands of God. Her mother treated her as 
roughly as her brother, and she shed many 
tears on account of their hatred to God and 
the religion of Christ, as well as her own suf- 
ferings. After a while her friends, being con- 
vinced she had undergone such a change that 
it was impossible she could again be what 
she had been previous to the change, allowed 
her a little respite, until they discovered that 
through her influence, a neighbor was in great 
distress for her soul, and sought frequent 
opportunities to be alone with Nancy. After 
watching them narrowly some time, effectual 
measures were adopted to procure an entire 
separation. Soon after the removal of her 
anxious friend from the neighborhood, a sister 
of her mother came into the family, and en- 
gaged in the work of persecution with great 
fury ; but after a time the meekness and hu- 
mility of Nancy disarmed her of her malice, 
and she began to find a little quiet, when, as 
Mr. Ferry was travelling in that part of the 
country, and hearing of her Christian fortitude, 
and prudent conduct, he turned aside to see 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



59 



her, leaving Miss Osmar, who had accompa- 
nied him, at the house of one of Nancy's 
neighbors, who could speak English and In- 
dian with equal fluency. 

Mr. Ferry was received with external 
marks of respect and kindness, but the family 
so managed that he could not obtain an oppor- 
tunity to speak to Nancy with any freedom. 
He therefore gained the mother's permission 
that the daughter should call upon Miss Osmar. 
The poor girl was almost overcome with 
grateful joy, when she was once more with 
her beloved minister and teacher. She re- 
counted her trials, and the supports of divine 
grace which had been granted to her. At 
the close of the interview, Mr. Ferry led them 
to a throne of grace, and with many tears 
commended this precious lamb of the flock to 
the special protection and blessing of the good 
and gracious shepherd. 

Mrs. P. How exactly the truths of the 
Bible operate upon the hearts and minds of 
untutored savages, as they do upon the minds 
of the most refined in polished life, when set 
home by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Mr. P. Yes; whoever learn who God is, 
and what he requires, and become acquainted 
with the plan of salvation through Jesus 
Christ, do feel pricked in their hearts in a 



60 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



greater or less degree ; and I fully believe, 
that sinners protract their sufferings from the 
gnawings of a guilty conscience, from days 
and months, to years, when they might repent 
and submit in one day, and ever afterwards 
rejoice in hope of acceptance with God, 
through faith in the blood of his dear Son. 

Cornelia. I think we may all learn a use- 
ful lesson from the poor persecuted Nancy, 
especially with regard to keeping the Sabbath 
holy. . 

Mr. P. The instructions she received at 
Mackinaw respecting the observance of the 
Sabbath were scriptural, and she felt bound 
to follow them, after she went home. 

Mrs. P. Brother, how do they spend the 
Sabbath there ? 

Mr. P. They rise early, prepare the 
young children, and overlook the larger 
ones in their preparation for meeting, before 
breakfast ; soon as breakfast and prayers are 
over, the children and youth of the school and 
village assemble for Sabbath school instruc- 
tion ; from the school they attend to the pub- 
lic service. Mr. Ferry preaches a sermon in 
the morning, and in the afternoon he labors 
in the Sabbath school. While he is engaged 
with the children and young people, Mrs. 
Ferry holds a meeting for adult Indians, and 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



61 



reads to ihem the Bible and tracts, and with 
the help of an interpreter she communicates 
a great deal of religious instruction ; there is a 
Mrs. Campbell that interprets for her, who is 
a member of the mission church, and greatly 
beloved by the Indians. These meetings often 
afford much encouragement to Mrs. Ferry 
and her female associates. Since the large 
Indian girls became pious, they go out to the 
Indian lodges in the vicinity, and read the 
Bible to all' who will listen, and converse with 
them about Christ, and their souls, and 
eternity. 

Cornelia. I should think Mr. and Mrs. 
Ferry would be very much beloved. 

.Mr. P. They are so. Mr. Ferry has 
given such unequivocal evidence of disinter- 
ested benevolence, and so many tokens of 
sincere affection and friendship for all his as- 
sistants, scholars, and the soldiers, citizens, 
and Indians, that I believe he possesses their 
entire confidence and good will. 

Mrs. P. Do they not feel the want of a 
meeting-house ? 

Mr. P. The sitting rooms in the mission 
house served for a chapel, till the revival com- 
menced : they then found the place too strait, 
and a subscription was set on foot, and money 
and labor to build a meeting-house, were 



62 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



immediately subscribed, to a considerable 
amount ; after the traders came down they 
gave very liberally, so that now they have an 
elegant little church, which not only adds to 
the usefulness of the mission, but very much 
to the beauty of the prospect, as you sail up 
the harbor. 

Mrs. P. Mr. Ferry has great cause for 
gratitude. 

Mr. P. He appears humble and grateful. 
God has unquestionably honored him as an 
instrument of communicating a knowledge of 
divine truth to the natives, which he has con- 
descended to make of saving efficacy to many. 

A gentleman, while on a visit at Mackinaw, 
wrote to his friends, and in speaking of Mr. 
Ferry he said, "Whatever of religion and 
piety there is here, has been introduced, 
planted, and nourished by him." 

Mrs. P. I feel a great love for those ser- 
vants of God, who are made by him instru- 
mental of so much good to their fellow-men, 
and yet they are only instruments— only a pen 
in God's hand, as the Rev. Mr. John Newton 
used to say. 

Cornelia. Uncle, I wish to bear more 
about the converts. 

Mr. P. There was one of them, a full 
blood, that lived near the mission h®use 3 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



63 



named Lydia. Her husband was a most 
violent opposer of religion, and gave her much 
uneasiness before she joined the church ; but 
the very clay after, he broke out upon her in 
a very alarming manner, declaring, as he 
seized hold of her, that he " would be her 
death and eat her raw." It is to be feared 
the furious savage would have kept his word, 
if he had not been discovered by a person 
who providentially went to Lydia's assistance, 
and prevented the cruel wretch from doing 
her essential injury. Enraged to madness 
by this interposition, he raised his axe and 
leveled a blow at the deliverer of his wife, 
which missed its object, but it was given with 
such force that it broke the helve. The poor 
terrified woman fled and hid behind the house 
and threw herself on the ground overcome 
with fear. Her husband pursued her with 
unabated rage ; but was again prevented 
giving her a death blow, as he evidently in- 
tended. Mr. Ferry, hearing what was going 
on went to the place, but the raging husband 
had disappeared. He found Lydia weeping, 
but was glad to find she was but slightly hurt. 
He sent her to the mission house, and after 
searching a long time for her husband, he at 
length found him at work upon a boat with 
many other men, and questioned him very 



64 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



closely. The wicked wretch denied what he 
had done, and charged Lydia with the most 
dreadful crimes. He said he did nothing 
" only shook and hauled her about a little." 
Mr. Ferry considered the woman's life in 
imminent danger, and measures were taken 
to secure him. 

When he was first taken into custody he 
was very sullen, till he learned from his keeper 
that he would be deprived of whiskey and his 
liberty for a given time, and then have a trial; 
he then began to feel that he was in very 
solemn circumstances ; and sent again and 
again for Mr. Ferry to come and see him, 
who thought best to give him time for reflec- 
tion. However it was not long before some 
person appeared who became responsible for 
his good behavior, and he regained his liberty. 

He went directly to Mr. Ferry, and con- 
fessed the many false accusations he had made 
against his innocent w 7 ife, and expressed deep 
contrition for his cruel treatment of her. Mr. 
Ferry labored with him in a truly Christian 
spirit, and from that time his whole character 
seemed to undergo the most wonderful change. 
He went to all those persons to whom he had 
spoken ill of his uncomplaining wife, confess- 
ing with much seeming penitence his wicked 
conduct towards her. This is one among 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



65 



many examples which show the immense 
value of missions to the heathen. 

Mrs. P. Their value can never be duly 
estimated, till the value of the soul is ascer- 
tained. 

Mr. P. That is true. But we should 
prize them higher than we do, and feel more 
zealous for their prosperity if we saw the 
misery and debasement which actually exists 
in our western wilds, and which nothing but 
the blessings of religion and civilization can 
remedy. I have often thought, If those 
miserable mothers, with their half famished 
babes, could be seen, by the sons and daughters 
of affluence, while digging for nuts and acorns 
upon the cold prairies, to satisfy the cravings 
of hunger, could they sit quietly at home with 
their thoughtless companions, without devising 
some benevolent scheme to send them a por- 
tion of the blessings they might spare, without 
lessening their usefulness or happiness in the 
least ? 

Delia. Uncle, are such scenes common ? 

Mr. P. I wish, my dear, they were not ; 
but if you could see some of those little for- 
saken ones around the hunting camps, igno- 
rant, idle, and hungry, you would feel as if 
you could never do enough for their relief. 

Cornelia. If they were placed under the 
6 



66 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



means of grace, and could have the advantages 
of education, they might all become as inter- 
esting and useful Christians as Me-sai-ain-see, 
Nancy or Lydia. Who would not rejoice in 
being instrumental in producing such trans- 
formations of character, even in the remotest 
degree ? 

Mr. P. The object of your little mis- 
sionary societies is to aid directly in promot- 
ing such transformations of character. The 
little girls in the mission school at Mackinaw, 
have formed a society similar to yours. They 
meet to work, and have raised money enough 
to educate a little heathen girl, who is now in 
the school, making very encouraging progress 
in her learning. Perhaps you will raise 
enough to instruct several who are as much 
in want of instruction as the little girl they 
have helped. If you persevere in your mis- 
sionary exertions it is possible that your influ- 
ence may be felt from your own fire-sides to 
the lowliest Indian lodge upon the sides of 
the Rocky mountains; and among the dwel- 
lings of the uncivilized, upon the shores of 
the vast Pacific. 

Jerome. 1 would willingly work a long 
time to have it so. 

Delia. How much did the little girls at 
Mackinaw raise the first year of their society? 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



m 



Mr. P. Nearly twenty dollars. 

Delia. O, I long to get home before our 
society meet again. Uncle, how soon will 
you be ready to go with us ? 

Mr. P. Indeed I am not able to say, per- 
haps your uncle William can determine this 
evening. I think we shall go in two or three 
days. 

Cornelia. You will tell us more of the 
mission at Mackinaw I hope, this evening. 

Mr. P. No ; I have promised to go out, 
but here is an account of another convert, 
which you can read if you wish. (Handing 
her a manuscript.) 

The conversation was not continued after 
this. 



68 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



CHAPTER IV. 

" Christ's reign shall extend from the east to the west, 
Compose all the tumults of nature to rest, 
The day-spring- of glory illumine the skies, 
And ages on ages of happiness rise. 77 

Cornelia felt as anxious to read the man- 
uscript put into her hands, as her cousins did 
to hear it ; and very early in the evening, 
they clustered around a little table, and she 
began as follows : 

The subject of the following narrative was 
a female named, by the missionaries, Eliza. 
Her Indian name was O-dab-be-tub-ghe-zhe- 
go-quai. She belonged to the Chippeway na- 
tion, and her family were of consequence in 
the tribe. The principal chief was her uncle, 
by whom she was regarded with peculiar 
favor. He caused her to be elected an inter- 
preter of dreams at the age of sixteen. 

To prove herself a worthy candidate for 
this distinguished honor, custom required her 
to live alone in a lodge, and to abstain wholly 
from all kind of sustenance ten days, except 
a little cold water each evening. The ambi- 
tious girl cheerfully submitted, and persevered 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



69 



in fasting through the term prescribed ; but 
at the close of it, she was entirely exhausted, 
and appeared more like one dead than alive. 
It is probable that she took too much food in 
her weak state, for she immediately fell sick, 
and for months her recovery was doubtful. 
But no sooner was her strength restored, than 
she again commenced another fast, with equal 
strictness, and continued it nine days — which 
so highly excited the admiration and respect 
of her superstitious countrymen, that they 
thought her worthy to receive the highest 
office they had to bestow ; and they lavished 
upon her the most honorable attentions. A 
wigwam was fitted up in the best style for her 
accommodation, and she was not suffered to 
do any kind of work. They seemed to feel 
it an honor to send her the best of food and 
clothing in abundance. 

They sent her an otter skin, or medicine 
sack, containing every thing considered neces- 
sary to aid in the interpretation of dreams, or, 
the magical cure of the sick. This sack was 
her badge of honor ; and upon receiving it, 
she took a high rank in the medicine dance, 
and was considered, by all her people, " the 
greatest among the great." 

She took the lead in drinking whiskey, and 
soon became notorious for intemperance, even 
6* 



TO 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



among the Indians. In some riotous scene, 
she lost her sack, which occasioned her as 
deep mortification as the loss of a sword would 
have done a young officer in similar circum- 
stances. Her popularity was so great, that 
her indulgent people procured her another 
sack, and thus afforded her an opportunity to 
redeem her character. But within two years, 
this infatuated woman became such a slave to 
drunkenness and vice, that she lost her second 
sack, and with it all the confidence and res- 
pect of her tribe. She was treated with 
scorn and contempt by all those who had for- 
merly loaded her with honors, and she sunk 
down into deep dejection, which, upon the 
death of one of her children, increased till she 
seemed to settle into utter despair. After 
abandoning all hope of regaining her influence, 
she gave herself up to work all manner of 
iniquity ; and during eight or nine years, she 
lived a life of the most atrocious wickedness. 

She had been the mother of four children, 
but she buried three of them. After she lost 
the third, there was a short pause in her infa- 
mous course. She partially abstained from 
gross intemperance, till she was again enticed 
to drink whiskey, which had been concealed 
in the woods, by a man and his wife, her for- 
mer companions in crime, They found little 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



71 



difficulty in alluring her to the place of its 
concealment. Here a dreadful scene was 
exhibited, too shameful to expose. In a fit 
of jealous rage, the wife fell upon Eliza, and 
cut off her nose ! This remediless disgrace 
roused all her pride and enmity. Frantic 
with rage and despair, she resolved to take 
her life, and made a fruitless attempt to hang 
herself. Vexed by the interference of the 
humane person who rescued her from death 
while hanging, she madly threw herself from 
a canoe into the lake, but was plucked by 
some kind hand from a watery grave. After 
this, her hankering to commit suicide abated, 
and she made no farther attempts upon her 
life, but returned to her habits of drunkenness 
with increased appetite ; dividing her time 
between Mackinaw and the main land. 

About the time Mr. Ferry commenced the 
mission school, he met Eliza's son, and invited 
him to attend school. Having learned some- 
thing of the mother's character, he took an 
interpreter and went to her lodge, which pre- 
sented a scene of want and wretchedness, no- 
where found, but in savage and pagan coun- 
tries. 

The heart of the missionary melted with 
compassion, and notwithstanding her positive 
refusal to comply with Mr. Ferry's request^ 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



to allow her son to become a member of the 
school, he persevered in his efforts to obtain 
him till he gained the cheerful consent of both 
mother and son. 

After he entered the school Mr. Ferry had 
much trouble with him for several months ; 
once he ran away, but soon returned. His 
mother watched every opportunity to allure 
him away, and occasioned the family much 
anxiety through the winter. Mrs. Ferry and 
the other ladies in the mission felt a deep 
concern for this miserable woman, and had 
strong desires for her reformation. Early in 
the spring they offered her a little work to do 
in the kitchen ; and afterwards at the sugar- 
camp, upon condition that she would abstain 
entirely from taking whiskey. She kept her 
promise faithfully for a time, and never vio- 
lated it more than three or four times after- 
wards. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ferry cherished every symp- 
tom of amendment, and offered her a home 
at the mission house so long as she would be 
temperate and industrious. She went to live 
with them, resolving to live soberly. She at- 
tended Mrs. Ferry's Sabbath meeting for in- 
structing the adult Indians, and after a few 
weeks a tear was now and 4 then seen to fall 
upon her cheek, which she always strove to 



MACKINAW MISSION. 73 

hide. It was evident that serious impressions 
were often made upon her mind, and full as 
evident that she struggled hard to efface 
them. She would frequently refuse to be 
present at family worship, and usually declined 
attending the female prayer meeting whenever 
she had permission ; at the same time it was 
known that she would stand at the door and 
solemnly listen to every petition. 

Sometimes her sense of guilt appeared to 
be deep, and she would wander into the 
woods to weep arid pray ; however the great- 
er part of the time she was low and dejected, 
appearing to cherish a despairing frame of 
mind. 

When she had resided in the mission family 
nearly a year, constantly receiving the most 
faithful religious instruction, she went down to 
the farm to attend to some of its concerns, 
accompanied by her son. Before the busi- 
ness upon which they went was accomplished, 
both fell sick, and remained ill three or four 
days before it was known at the mission 
houses. The moment their circumstances 
were known-, they were brought home and 
nursed with the greatest tenderness ; but both 
had suffered considerably for want of medi- 
cine and care. During those days of pain 
and solitude, her conflicting thoughts were 



74 MACKINAW MISSION 

extreme!}' distressing. She reflected upon 
the instruction she had received, and the 
great kindness shown to her and her son ever 
since they had known the missionaries. But 
such reflections only increased the trouble of 
her mind. She then resolved to go back to 
the ways of her youth, and see if there was 
any comfort to be found in them. 

She spent several nights in singing her 
" medicine songs " and going over her former 
mummeries, without finding any peace to her 
troubled soul. After they returned home, 
Joseph wasted away, but he seemed resigned 
and happy in his own mind, though anxious 
and distressed for his mother. He often 
talked with her about leaving off all her old 
bad ways, and getting a new heart. When 
she gave up the hope of his recovery, she told 
him that if he died, she would die also. He 
faithfully warned her of the dreadful conse- 
quences of indulging such wicked feelings, 
and entreated her to pray to God and prepare 
to meet him in heaven. This conversation 
softened her heart, and she promised to do 
every thing Joseph desired. He lived but a 
short time after this, — and from the moment 
of his death, there was a marked change in 
all her behavior. 

When she saw him breathe his last, the 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



75 



tears flowed down her sunken cheeks, and 
she exclaimed in Indian, "My son ! my son !" 
No other complaint or groan escaped her lips. 
She was solemn and singularly calm through 
the scene of his death and funeral. Her 
whole conduct was awfully reproving to many 
Christian mothers, who in similar circum- 
stances indulge in immoderate grief so nearly 
allied to rebellion. 

Mr. Ferry expressed some surprise at her 
patient, quiet deportment, and inquired if she 
had felt the same under her former bereave- 
ments. She seemed willing to converse, and 
with great frankness related the dreadful ex- 
cesses of which she had been guilty at the 
death of her other children; how she had 
wailed, and added to her sufferings by mang- 
ling her own flesh in the most horrid manner. 
But, said she, " I have no such feelings now — 
God is good, and I feel that what he has done 
must be right." 

She appeared to have, no sensible love to 
God ;^yet, Mr. Ferry could not help cherish- 
ing the hope that her affections had been 
brought under the " sanctifying influences of 
the Holy Spirit." 

A dreadful conflict arose, in the mind of 
Eliza, the night after this conversation. The 
promises she had made to Joseph, when he 



?6 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



urged her with such beseeching tenderness? 
at the very gate of death, to turn to God and 
make a new heart, rushed upon her mind 
with overwhelming power ; and for a little 
time she doubted the possibility of the mercy 
of God being able to meet her case. 

At length she resolved once more to cry 
for mercy ; and to make sure of undisturbed 
retirement, she went to the cellar at a very 
late hour ; but her feelings became so strong, 
she could not proceed, and sinking down 
upon the stairs, she poured out her full heart 
before God. How, or when she returned to 
her bed, she never afterwards had the slightest 
recollection. Mr. Ferry heard a cry of dis- 
tress about midnight, and went to the place 
where Eliza lay — -the noise appearing to come 
from that quarter. He hastily approached 
her bed with a light, and found her sleeping. 
He awoke her, and inquired if she felt ill ; 
she told him she was not sick, and he left her. 
Some time afterwards, she told a Christian 
friend, that after Mr. Ferry awoke her, she 
arose and engaged in prayer, at which time 
she was first conscious of feeling the love of 
Christ in her heart. The morning after, 
when she saw the different members of the 
family, she felt a tenderness and affection 
quite as strong as any thing she had ever felt 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



77 



for her own children. She said, " I felt as if 
1 was in a narrow, happy way, and if a thought 
came to me about Joseph, it seemed like 
being drawn out of this happy way, and I 
longed to get back again immediately." From 
that day, all her anxieties seemed to centre in 
her own people, who were in ignorance of 
that Saviour who was to her " the chiefest 
among ten thousand, and altogether lovely." 
She would exclaim, " Oh if they could see 
as I do, how happy would they be !" All 
attempts to shake her faith, after this, seemed 
in vain. She believed in Christ, upon him 
her hope fastened, and she felt she could trust 
him through time and eternity. Some of her 
conversations were very interesting, and quick- 
ening to the members of the church. One 
day, after her mind seemed established in re- 
ligion, Mr. Ferry asked her what the state of 
her mind was then ? 

Eliza. " I have been happy in God since 
then. The more I have- had a view of the 
love of God in Christ, and the longer I have 
lived, the more 1 have desired to love him, 
and to love him more and more, and to be 
more like him in my soul. 1 do not know 
that 1 have since ever had any sorrow of soul 
so great as I have had for those who are igno- 
rant of God. Much sorrow I have often had 
7 



78 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



for ihem. Sometimes when going into church, 
or while there, it has made me weep to think 
of those who do not love God." 

After this conversation, her joy and peace 
in believing continued to increase, and she 
could recollect but two or three instances 
when she was sensible of any abatement in 
her love and joy. Her health had been feeble 
a long time before the death of her son, and 
from that time symptoms of consumption were 
daily increasing ; but sick or well, she seemed 
always happy, and met every person with a 
sweet expressive smile. A little while ago, 
Mr. Ferry said to her, " You have said, that 
before you found peace in Christ, you did for 
a long time — for many months—feel yourself 
miserably wretched, and that you often prayed. 
Was it for the sake of these prayers that God 
gave you peace ; or was there any good in 
them ?" 

Eliza. No ; it was because of Christ's 
pity to my soul ; because he died for poor 
sinners ; and it was of God's mercy that mis- 
sionaries were sent to teach me. 

Mr. Ferry. Do you mean to have me 
understand from what you have said, that you 
never had any fears that you were deceived ; 
no lime in which you doubted whether you 
had part in the Saviour or not ? 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



79 



Eliza. I have always felt sure that God 
has had mercy on my soul ; and the more I 
have thought of my old wicked life, it has 
been like one pushing me nearer to God ; it 
has made me feel more humble in myself, 
and a strong desire to live only for him. 

Mr. Ferry. But should God take away 
his Spirit from your heart, and leave you to 
yourself, what do you think would become of 
you ? 

Eliza. I should be good for nothing. 
Mr. Ferry. Have you any fears that God 
will take away his Spirit from your soul ? 
Eliza. No. 
Mr. Ferry. Why ? 

Eliza. From what I have heard of his 
word, he has promised to keep those who 
trust in him ; and I believe he is faithful to 
his word. 

Mr. Ferry. There have been times when 
in your sickness we have thought you very 
low ; and have had reason to .think you could 
live but a few days at farthest, and oftentimes 
but a few hours ; have you at none of those 
times been unwilling; or afraid to die ? 

Eliza, No. 

Mr. Ferry. Have you always felt that if 
it was God's will, it would be a privilege 



so 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



to die, and you would be glad to have the 
hour come ? 

Eliza. Yes, I have. This fall, when I 
was very sick for two days and nights, and 
felt that God only could make me belter or 
take me away, I thought, if it were his will, 
how glad 1 should be to be sure that I was 
dying, that I might be with God. 

The conversation was protracted to a much 
greater length, in which she recounted the 
joys of her soul the first time she commemo- 
rated the dying love of the Redeemer in the 
ordinance of the Supper, the day she was 
admitted to the church. She says, that her 
comforts increase at each succeeding celebra- 
tion of that glorious event. 

Mr. Ferry. What good do you think the 
sacrament could do you, without a heart to 
love the Saviour ? 

Eliza. None. There would be no joy to 
my soul in it. 

Mr. Ferry. Could you have this joy and 
peace of which you have told me, if you did 
not, as far as you know, strive to obey God 
in all things ? 

Eliza. No, I could not. Though unable 
to do anything with my hands to help the 
family and labor for God, it is my sincere 
desire, daily, to have my heart much in prayer 



MACKTNAW MISSION. yi 

for them, and for the salvation of their souls ; 
and because God lets me lire, I believe he 
wishes me to be devoted in spirit to this. 

Mr. Ferry. Do you think you love God 
and souls as much as you ought ? 

Eliza. No ; I try to love, but don't feel 
so much as I ought. 

Mr. Ferry. When do you expect to have 
perfect love to God and souls ? 

Eliza. When I get to heaven. 

Mrs. P. I think no person can learn the 
history of this Indian convert, without blessing 
God for the rich grace of the gospel, and feel- 
ing that efforts to civilize and Christianize the 
most debased savage is no longer a hopeless 
undertaking. 

Jerome. Perhaps it is not true, cousin. 

Cornelia. There is the same authority 
for its truth, that there is of other facts con- 
nected with that mission. 

u Or that a mission was ever established at 
Mackinaw," said Mr. Charles Pelham, who 
had returned and heard Jerome's remark as 
he entered the room. 

Mrs. P, The story wears the face of 
truth in every part of the religious experience 
of Eliza. 

Mr* P, And so far from adorning this 
7# 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



character with false coloring, the members cf 
the mission who knew her before and after 
conversion, say, that much more might have 
been related with the mosi exact truth. 

Mrs. P. Who can read this and deny 
there is a divine power in the religion of 
Christ ? In what way can the unbelievers of 
revelation account for the wonderful trans- 
formation of character in this poor woman ? 

Cornelia. They cannot help allowing that 
this change exhibited all the marks of regene- 
ration pointed out in the gospel ; and that we 
never hear of such changes in character, ex- 
cept where the subjects of them become in 
some measure acquainted with the law of God 
and the gospel plan of salvation by Jesus 
Christ. 

Mr. P. However infidels may revile and 
cavil, the friends of Christ and the heathen 
have had great encouragement to persevere 
in their efforts to provide support for mis- 
sionaries and teachers at Mackinaw, and all 
the region around. 

Cornelia. Have you mentioned all the 
teachers at Mackinaw, uncle ? 

Mr. P. I do not know— the school is in 
three divisions, I think, besides an infant school. 
I know that I have mentioned Misses Osrnar 
and McFarland, and if I have named Misses 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



83 



Cook, Goodell, Taylor, Hotchkiss, and Ste- 
vens, 1 have named all the female helpers 
who were there a few months ago. Mr. and 
Mrs. Hudson have left, and Mr. Ayer, the 
schoolmaster, has gone to La Point, with one 
of the traders ; he took with him one of the 
scholars for an interpreter. 

Cornelia. They have more teachers than 
I supposed. Who takes Mr. Ayer's place? 

Mr. P. Mr. Loomis has gone to supply 
his place for the present. 

Mrs. P. The same Mr. Loomis who was 
a missionary to the Sandwich Islands? 

Mr. P. Yes. 

Talbot. Why did he leave that mission? 
Mr. P. His health failed under a warm 
climate; he was obliged to return to preserve 

his life. 

Mrs. P. Did Mrs. Loomis accompany 

him ? 

Mr. P. Yes; and a Mr. Newton and 
Miss S cinner, likewise/ 

Cornelia. Uncle, do you not think Mack- 
inaw a very promising field of missionary la- 
bor ? 

Mr. P. I feel inclined to think it is. 
There are several places, also, in the interior, 
beyond Mackinaw, which promise a rich har- 
vest to a faithful missionary. The natives have 



84 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



hitherto had little intercourse with dehased 
whites, and therefore have not imbibed from 
them prejudices against the gospel, or become 
the slaves of intemperance. I cherish the hope 
that the liberality of the churches will enable 
the Board to establish a mission at UArbre 
Croche, also, without, delay : that field at pres- 
ent looks very promising. 

Talbot. Where is UArbre Croche, uncle? 

Mr. P. On the peninsula of Michigan. 
At that place it seems as if divine Providence 
had prepared the way for missionary opera- 
tions, and the fields look white for the harvest. 
A settlement of Indians altogether superior to 
any that surround them, have of their own 
accord renounced many of their heathen cus- 
toms, and shown their wisdom in destroying 
the medicine sack, without which many of 
their superstitious rites cannot be performed, 
and abandoned the use of whiskey. 

Cornelia. How large is the settlement, 
uncle ? 

Mr. P. There are a hundred men, be- 
sides the women, children and youth. These 
men have resolved to procure subsistence for 
themselves and families by cultivating the soil, 
and are heartily desirous of receiving a mis- 
sionary teacher, and promise him the use of 
as much land as he may choose to cultivate. 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



85 



A small missionary establishment would be 
welcomed with joy by this band, if it could 
be sent now. 

Mrs. P. I think it would be cruel to 
neglect granting their request. 

Mr. P. And yet I fear it must be, unless 
the treasury of the Board is replenished speedi- 
ly. Of late their expenditures have far ex- 
ceeded their receipts. 

Talbot. Uncle, if the boys in every Sab- 
bath school would exert themselves, and do 
for the Indians all they possibly could, do 
you think there would be a failure in means, 
or missionaries ? 

Mr. P. No, Talbot, I do not. If scholars 
in the Sabbath schools, their parents, and 
teachers, would do what they easily might, 
there would be no want of funds to support 
missionaries, and educate indigent young men 
for the gospel ministry, — or to purchase Bi- 
bles and Tracts for all the destitute families 
in the land. 

Jerome. We have begun to do something, 
uncle. 

Talbot. But I mean to do more — I won't 
rest till the Indians at UArbre Croche have 
as many missionaries, teachers and Bibles as 
they want. 



86 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



Cornelia. A good resolve, cousin, I will 
help you all in my power. 

Mr. P. There is very much to be done 
yet at Green Bay. 

Jerome. Where is that, uncle? 

Mr. P. On the west side of lake Michigan. 

Talbot. Will you tell what is required to 
be done there ? 

Mr. P. Not till w r e make our visit to 
your father and mother. Your uncle William 
hopes to be ready to go to-morrow. 

Mrs. P. I hope you have not told us all 
you intend about Mackinaw. 

Mr. P. I could tell you of many more 
facts and incidents connected with this station, 
but if your interest and sympathy is not ex- 
cited by what I have already related, further 
communications would not be likely to pro- 
duce it. I feel persuaded that greater results 
have seldom followed at any missionary station 
where no greater amount of money and labor 
has been bestowed ; and if a gracious Provi- 
dence continues to smile upon Mr. Ferry's 
labors, and that of his associates, in future 
years, as he has done in past time, the light 
of the gospel will ere long penetrate through 
all the dark forests of this vast continent. 
Indeed, the most favored churches in New 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



87 



England may well feel reproved and quick- 
ened by the examples of Christian liberality 
and disinterested benevolence exhibited by 
that little church and society the past year ; 
for they had raised one thousand three hun- 
dred dollars for religious and charitable pur- 
poses, before an agent of the Seaman's Friend 
Society called upon them, and preached, I 
ought to add, without asking them to give a 
penny ; but before he left, they raised for the 
benefit of the poor tempest-tossed mariner, 
no less than one hundred and seventy-three 
dollars and thirty cents ! 

Mrs. P. Is it possible ! who will not bless 
and praise God for the riches of his grace to 
that " little flock though our faces be cover- 
ed with blushes of shame as we contrast our 
expressions of benevolence with theirs ? 

Jerome. Aunt, 1 suppose they are rich, 
then ? 

Mr. P. No, Jerome ; they are not rich. 
The white inhabitants do not exceed five or 
six hundred, and a considerable part of these 
are French people connected with the Rom- 
ish church, who of course do very littie, if 
anything, for the promotion of the Protestant 
religion. 

Cornelia. I am sure this statement makes 



88 



MACKINAW MISSION 



me feel low indeed. Have we any right to 
suppose we have any more real faith than we 
manifest by our works, uncle? 

Mr. P. No, not a whit more. I believe 
we generally appear to have more religion 
than we possess. 

Mrs. P. If anything will cast us down in 
our own eyes, I think the example of those, 
so recently brought under the influence of the 
gospel, is calculated to do it. 

Jerome. Uncle, do they have societies 
there ? 

Mr. P. Yes, Jerome, they have a num- 
ber of them ; the boys do nobly in theirs. In 
addition to the Bible and Tract Society, they 
have quite lately formed a society auxiliary 
to the American Board — and one to aid the 
American Seaman's Friend Society ; all these 
efforts are not made because they feel they 
are obliged to make them, but they are made 
cheerfully, because they feel a deep personal 
interest in the several objects. 

Jerome. I will do something I never did 
before — I. will not consent to be outdone by 
the boys at Mackinaw. 

Mr. P. Remember, Jerome, in all your 
doings in the cause of religion and benevo- 
lence, that, however much you may benefit 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



89 



others, unless your motives are pure, it will 
avail nothing in the sight of God, who looketh 
at the heart. 

Mrs. P. Brother, I cannot believe that 
it will be long before a mission will be es- 
tablished near Lake Superior. The signal 
success attending missionary labor at Mack- 
inaw seems to forbid that the desire of those 
friendly and pious traders should not be 
granted. 

Mr. P. One of the traders came down 
from La Point this summer, with a boat well 
manned for the purpose of conveying the 
mission family, he had hoped to obtain, to 
his post up the lake. Four traders were 
received into the church last July, who gave the 
most comforting evidence of genuine piety ; 
they, with others connected with the fur trade 
at Mackinaw and other places, I think agreed 
to dispense with spirituous liquors as an arti- 
cle of trade after January, 1831. The mis- 
sion schools held a quarterly examination 
while the traders were down this summer 
upon their annual visit, and they, with all 
others who were present, expressed universal 
satisfaction with the order and improvement 
of the scholars. I intended before now to 
have shown you a specimen of some of the 
boys' hand-writing and composition. One of 
8 



90 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



the Secretaries of the Board visited Mack- 
inaw in the summer of 1829, and not long 
ago some of them wrote him letters, from 
which I have copied a few extracts. There 
is a specimen of the writing — holding a paper 
before Mrs. Pelham, who remarked, " It is 
quite legible, and very neat." 

Delia, Talbot, and Jerome. Aunt, do let 
me see it. 

Cornelia. The writing looks well, but I 
feel more interested in the extracts. 

Mr. P. Here they are — read them, if you 
please, Cornelia. 

Cornelia, (reads.) " We had an examina- 
tion of the schools on Tuesday, the thirteenth 
of July, when most of the traders were pres- 
ent, and strangers that were then on the island. 
The traders appeared very much gratified 
with the improvement of their own and other 
children. We have a vacation of three weeks, 
and we work nine hours each day, and have 
three hours for ourselves. I work in the 
garden with another boy and Mr. Heyden- 
burk. The rest of the boys work in the field, 
some draw wood, others water, &lc. he. Our 
garden looks a great deal better than it did 
last year. The church was finished and dedi- 
cated last March. It is a neat and handsome 
little building, and very convenient. The 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



91 



school-rooms have not yet been used. We 
are going to remove at the commencement of 
the next term. One of the boys, Reuben 
Smith, is working with Mr. H. learning the 
blacksmith's trade. 

Your humble servant, L. P." 

Talbot. I should never have surmised that 
letter had been written by a scholar at a mis- 
sion school. Why, uncle, it reads better than 
half the compositions in our academy. 

Mr. P. L. P. had attended the mission* 
school four years, and he had been at school 
some time previous to his entrance at the mis- 
sion school. Cornelia, you may read the 
whole of this from C. H. to the same gen- 
tleman. 

Cornelia, (reads.) " Dear Sir, — As 1 was 
requested by one of the teachers, I express 
myself with full gratitude, what God has done 
for my poor soul. I hope, if my heart does 
not deceive me, our Saviour is precious to 
my soul. Not anything of my own righteous- 
ness ; it is the gift of God. I feel to resolve 
to be in the hands of that Almighty God, of 
whom I have long been rejecting his blessed 
gospel. I had such a deceitful heart used to 
lead me to think it would be time enough to 
attend to these things. Thanks be to God, 
he did not permit me to go on as I was. In 



92 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



vain have I been looking forward to have the 
pleasures of this world. I could look ever 
since I can remember, I never found anything 
give me so much satisfaction as to serve the 
Lord. I could bless God and thank all 
the Christians for sending us missionaries to 
teach us how to read, and above all, to tell us 
about God and Jesus Christ. I could say 
for one, I have been as ignorant about God 
before I came to live with the missionaries as 
In any thousands are now. We have for num- 
ber of Sabbaths had two or three meetings 
on purpose for the Indians. A number of 
them hope they are born again. The meet- 
ings we have had, have been very interesting 
to me. What a blessing to see some of the 
Chippewas talking about God. But there is 
great darkness yet all around us. There 
were six or seven Chippewas from La Point, 
came down with traders ; they told us when 
we told them about God, that they never 
heard about God in their country. Some of 
the traders felt so anxious they brought down 
a boat from La Point on purpose to take up 
missionaries to that region. Mr. Ayer has 
gone on to that place, for this year. Because 
there was no one appointed from the Board. 
I hope before they return, there will be some 
one appointed for that place. May God bless 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



93 



all the Christians, all those that exert them- 
selves to spread his gospel. And after, when 
they done serving him here, be accepted at 
his hand, there to sit with him to eternity. 

I am yours, C. H." 

Mrs. P. What a pity there was not a 
family in readiness to go home with Mr. 
Warren. 

Mr. P. We must pray the Lord of the 
harvest to thrust in more laborers, and deny 
ourselves to procure things needful for their 
support. 

Delia. Uncle, did none of the girls write 
letters ? 

Mr. P. Yes ; here, Cornelia, is almost a 
sheet full of extracts from their letters. 

Cornelia, (reads.) " I hope a revival has 
commenced on this island. Seven profess to 
be Christians. One of them is a young In- 
dian who was found lying in the street, the 
day after new year's, drunk. He was igno- 
rant, he did not know the word of God but 
very little. We hope now that he has given 
himself to Jesus, that dear friend. His name 
is Me-squa-da-se, or Turtle. I have been in 
this mission six years. I have not attended 
school much, on account of my health ; there 
was a time when my teachers thought that I 
should not live long. And I was not pre- 



94 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



pared to die. O how I used to wish to get 
better. I thought if I might get better, 1 
would prepare to die. After 1 got better, I 
would be serious a little while. Sometimes 
it was because I saw others under conviction. 
And then I would think there is plenty more 
time to prepare for death. So last winter, 
when there was a revival, and when I saw 
my companions giving themselves to Jesus 
Christ, I felt i had to think my best friends 
were leaving me behind. I thought I would 
arise and go to my Father which is in heaven. 
About two weeks I was under conviction. 
About one week I felt tired. I thought I 
would try no longer. And so 1 heard my 
teacher say, that perhaps it was the last time 
that the Spirit was striving with us. So I 
thought I would not rest till I found peace with 
God. I felt so distressed that I thought I was 
sick, and I thought I was the chiefest of sin- 
ners. On the twelfth April, 1S29, I hope 
that I chose that good part which Mary chose. 
My parents are Catholics, and they are dis- 
pleased, because I was received into the 
church." 

J\lr. P. The next extract is from another 
young girl. 

Cornelia, (reads.) " I am very happy to 
tell you what the Lord has done for my soul. 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



95 



I think I can say with all my heart that Jesus 
is precious to me. I feel, when I look round 
on sinners, as if I could take them by their 
hands, and carry them to the foot of the cross. 
But I cannot do anything for them, only to 
pray for their precious souls. I think if I 
could do anything for them I would be very 
willing to do it. I can now say it is a good 
thing to be in the hands of Christ, and a 
good thing to be a Christian. On the sec- 
ond day of February, I was willing to leave 
myself in the hands of God, and just when I 
left my sins I found peace. I was about four 
weeks under conviction, and was not willing 
to give up all for Christ's sake. I thought I 
could do something for myself, and did not 
believe that he would save me. I was afraid 
to trust him. I have been trying three years 
and a half to save myself, but it was all in 
vain. My teacher would often tell me that 
every moment I stayed away from him the 
more danger I was in. I feel now as if I 
could go and compel sinners to come to God, 
that the house of the Lord might be full. I 
think this is my sincere desire to go back 
where I came from, and tell the poor heathen 
what a dear Saviour he is, and that God sent 
his Son into this world to die on the cross for 
us poor creatures, that we through him might 



96 



MACKINAW MISSION. 



be saved. I know that some of them feel 
anxious to have a mission there. I do sin- 
cerely hope you will send some missionaries 
to them. I feel very anxious when I think of 
my parents. My mother has said that she 
would rather have a mission there than to 
have all the goods of this world. I had noth- 
ing to tell my poor mother about God. I did 
not know the preciousness of Jesus. I only 
used to read the Bible to her, but never 
hardly said anything to her about her immor- 
tal, never-dying soul. But now I think I 
could take her by the hand and say to her, 
Mother, come with us, and, perhaps, by the 
help of God, we might do you good. She 
has some little seriousness since we lost my 
little sister. My parents live a great way dis- 
tant from Lake Superior. They come here 
every summer to visit us, and stay here about 
four weeks. I feel thankful that God ever 
brought me to this family." 

Mrs. P. Delia, the letter of this girl 
preaches loudly to you and your brothers ; I 
think it must affect the minds of scholars in 
the Sabbath school. 

Mr. P. I wish it might be impressed on 
all their minds, that "just when they leave 
their sins, they will jind peace" exactly as 
this dear girl did. 



MACKINAW MISSION. 97 

Mrs. P. If her mother does not receive 
a missionary, the fault shall not rest at my 
door. 

Cornelia, Neither shall it at mine. 

Mrs. P. Cornelia, this account of Mack- 
inaw has enkindled anew my zeal for the pro- 
motion of missions. Let us make strenuous 
efforts to further the cause while at your aunt 
Claiborne's. 

Cornelia. I shall be happy to aid in the 
execution of all your plans. 

Mr. P. We shall start to-morrow morn- 
ing, soon after breakfast, and I must go and 
pack my trunk. 

The rest soon afterwards dispersed to make 
similar preparation for their journey. 



PART II. 



CONVERSATIONS ON THE INDIAN MIS- 
SION AT GREEN BAY. 



CHAPTER I. 

" Go, ye messengers of God, 

Like the beams of morning fly ; 
Take the wonder-working rod, 
Wave the banner cross on high ! 

In yon wilds of stream and shade, 
Many an Indian wigwam trace; 

And with words of love persuade 
Savages to sue for grace." 

In a day or two after the arrival of the 
visiting party at Mr. Claiborne's, being anxious 
to obtain a new and interesting subject for 
conversation at the approaching meeting of 
the Sabbath school Missionary Society, Delia 
improved the first quiet interval in the family 
circle, to introduce inquiries respecting the 
Green Bay mission, by asking her uncle the 
distance from Mackinaw to Green Bay. 

Mr. P. It is about two hundred miles. 



100 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



Mr. William Pelkam. Is it the Indian set- 
tlement, or the region around it, that is called 
Green Bay, brother ? 

Mr. C. P. It commonly, and at a dis- 
tance, represents an indefinite portion of the 
North West Territory, as the Genesees once 
did the western region of New York. But 
when upon the spot, you find it is a settlement 
at the mouth of Fox river, containing about 
eight hundred souls, including two hundred 
men at Fort Howard. 

Mr. TV. P. Are the inhabitants all Indians 
except the soldiers in the garrison ? 

Mr. C. P. No, there is every kind of 
mixture imaginable, but the Indian predomi- 
nates. The place was first settled by the 
French, about one hundred and fifty years 
ago ; now there is little pure French or In- 
dian to be found in the immediate vicinity, 
though the French being the most yielding, 
the Indian appears the most prominent. 

Mrs. P. What is their religion ? 

Mr. C. P. What faith they have is Catho- 
lic ; but I saw no traces of religion among 
them, except two old crosses, one in a grave 
yard and the other on a house. 

Mr. Claiborne. Is it a place of much 
business ? 

Mr. C. P. Yes, but the greater part is 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



101 



done by a few men, from other places, who 
are grocers and sellers of whiskey. 

Mrs. Claiborne. Are there many respect- 
able and intelligent people there ? 

Mr. C. P. O yes ; besides the mission- 
aries of the American Board of Missions, there 
are the missionaries of the Protestant Episco- 
pal Church, and the officers of the garrison, 
their families, and a few citizens of excellent 
character. The families of the Christian 
Indians are many of them intelligent and 
agreeable ; and a few natives, whose educa- 
tion and manners would render them inter- 
esting among the most intellectual and refined. 

Mrs. C. Have the Episcopalians there a 
large establishment ? 

Mr. C. P. They have at present, the 
Rev. Mr. Cadle, and Mr. Williams, who is a 
minister, and also an agent. He has labored 
for years to promote the spiritual welfare of the 
Oneida tribe. 1 believe he was the son of 
one of the highest chiefs. It is very certain, 
however, that he had been highly honored and 
beloved by them ; and when they removed 
from the State of New York in 1824, he led 
the larger part of the band to Green bay. The 
next year there was a revival of religion, and 
among the converts there was -an aged female 
named Christine, who was over seventy years 
9 



102 GREEN BAY MISSION. 

of age, although she had in early life attended 
upon the ministry of President Edwards, Mr. 
Occum, and Mr. Sargeant, to use her own 
expressions, she " had been a pagan at heart, 
and a disbeliever of the Christian faith." After 
she was subdued by the power of the Holy 
Spirit, and made willing to accept pardon and 
salvation upon the terms of the Gospel, she 
exclaimed with uplifted hands, "It is wonder- 
ful that I should be brought to know God, and 
find mercy at this late period." 

Mrs. P. It was wonderful indeed. 

Mr. C. P. Two other women nearly as 
old, hopefully embraced religion about the 
same time, and many of the young people 
were serious, and a considerable number gave 
evidence of sincere piety. 

Cornelia. They have been greatly blessed. 

Mr. C. P. They have so. Mr. Cadle 
and Mr. Williams preach alternately once 
on the Sabbath at the Fort, to a respecta- 
ble assembly of soldiers, officers, and their 
families. 

Delia. Have you mentioned all the Epis- 
copal missionaries, uncle ? 

Mr. C. P. All that are there now ex- 
cept Mr. Ellis, a catechist and schoolmaster. 
I have been told that all the Oneida Indians 
in that neighborhood are Episcopalians. 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



103 



Delia. Uncle, have not the American 
Board more missionaries at Green Bay than 
the Episcopalians ? 

Mr. C. T. No, I think not so many. 
Their mission has been established but a 
short time. 

Delia. What tribe was it designed to 
benefit ? 

Mr. C. P. The Stockbridge Indians, who 
originated in Massachusetts, and from the 
town whose name they bear ; they removed 
to the State of New York, and settled at New 
Stockbridge, in the county of Oneida. The 
forefathers of this tribe enjoyed the labors of 
the devoted missionary Brainerd, and of Pres- 
ident Edwards, and Dr. West ; after their 
removal to New Stockbridge, the Rev. Mr. 
Sargeant was their minister for a time. The 
church now existing among them was or- 
ganized in 1818, not long before they removed 
to the White river in Indiana. While they 
dwelt there they had no minister, but they met 
upon the Sabbath and read the Bible, and sung 
hymns, and prayed. Part of the time theyliad 
a school taught by one of their own people. 

Talbot. How long did they live in Indiana ? 

Mr. C. P. Only about four years. 

Mrs. C. Why did they leave ? 



104 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



Mr. C. P. It was owing to some disap- 
pointment with regard to their claims. 

Mr. C. How long is it since they left 
Stockbridge in Massachusetts? 

Mr. C. P. Forty-six years. 

Mr. C. What year did they go to Green 
Bay? 

Mr. C. P. They went from Indiana to 
Green Bay in 1822, having received con- 
siderable encouragement from government. 
They were destitute of preaching from the 
time of their removal to Green Bay, till Mr. 
Miner visited them in the summer of 1827. 
Having been their minister before they left 
New York, his arrival was hailed with strong 
expressions of joy. He was gratified to find 
that the little church maintained a Christian 
character in all their wanderings. In the 
hope of once more enjoying the instructions 
of their beloved spiritual guide, the leading 
men in the settlement wrote a letter to the 
Board expressing their desire for a mission 
and school, offering as much land as should 
be deemed necessary for the use of the estab- 
lishment. 

Jerome. Uncle, I do not understand where 
their settlement is. 

Mr. C. P. (Opening his pocket map.) 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



105 



There, you see Green Bay is an arm of Lake 
Michigan ; it is about one hundred miles in 
length and forty in breadth, but it decreases 
as you approach the mouth of Fox river. To 
find the Stockbridge Indian settlement, which 
they called Stalesburgh, you must look at the 
falls of Fox river, which are called at Green 
Bay the Grand Kawkawlin, and the Little Kaw- 
kawlin. The station of the Episcopal mis- 
sionaries is at the Little and that of the 
American Board at the Grand Kawkawlin ; 
the latter is about twenty miles from the 
mouth of the Fox river, and the former eight 
or ten miles. 

Jerome. I see where it is. Have they 
built a mission house ? 

Mr. C. P. Yes, and a church or coun- 
cil house. The buildings were commenced 
the spring after Mr. Miner's visit, and ren- 
dered habitable by the time he returned with 
his family. 

Jerome. How large is the house, uncle ? 

Mr. C. P. Thirty-four feet by twenty- 
four, two stories high, with a large convenient 
kitchen. The Indians gave about twenty 
acres of land for the use of the mission, and 
if I mistake not, the missionaries have since 
purchased enough more to make a snug little 
9* 



105 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



farm, that can be managed without incurring 
much expense. 

Mr. C. Have the Indians become farmers ? 

-Mr. C. P. They have, to a considerable 
extent. They generally raise corn, wheat, 
potatoes, Sic. enough for their own families, 
and some of them sell considerable quantities 
of these articles, or exchange them for other 
things. 

Mr. C. Is the land good or bad ? 

Mr. C. P. It is generally fertile and well 
wooded, but uneven. 

Mr. W. P. Have they abandoned the 
chase ? 

Mr. C. P. Yes, none of the Stockbridge 
Indians hunt. They cultivate their farms, 
so far as they have the means, in the manner 
of white men; and in their domestic arrange- 
ments show a desire to follow the customs of 
the whites. The women would gladly learn 
to spin and weave, if they had a teacher, and 
the means of purchasing looms and wheels. 
There is but one spinning wheel among them, 
and that belongs to the town. They have 
preserved their original language, which all 
can speak ; and nearly all can read English 
books, and understand English preaching. 
They have Bibles and hymn books, and they, 
in common with other Indians, have very 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



107 



melodious voices and are passionately fond of 
music. It is very interesting to attend public 
worship with this tribe, and see their neatness, 
order, and decency. They have a tithing 
man, whose badge of office is a white rod, 
and wo to the boy that plays, or the man 
or woman that sleeps. The former is switched 
over the ears, which makes them tingle : 
and whenever a person is seen dozing, the 
man with the rod strikes the largest end upon 
the stove-pipe, and cries, "wake up there." 

Jerome. 1 should think every body would 
laugh. 

Mr. C. P. No person smiles, though it 
occurs in the midst of the sermon. All is 
gravity and seriousness in their religious as- 
semblies, and during intermission upon the 
Sabbath, the tithing man preserves the most 
entire order and stillness both within and 
without the church. You do not discover the 
least levity in the youngest. 

Mr. C. How is it, brother Pelham, I have 
been told that the Indians are a truly polite 
people ; is it so ? 

Mr. C. P. The deference and respect 
which the Indian pays to others, when put 
upon the interchange of good feeling, is unri- 
valled. No art of civilized life can pretend 
to keep company with his politeness. 



108 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



Mr, Ci I do not seem to realize, that it 
is so. What success followed the efforts of 
Mr. Miner? 

Mr. C. P. Within a few months after he 
went there, he received more than thirty per- 
sons into the church. A considerable num- 
ber have become pious since, and the present 
number of communicants at present, is about 
forty-five. Not long ago 1 heard there 
was particular attention paid to religion, and 
it was thought many had experienced religion 
who would soon unite with the church. In 
the midst of Mr. Miner's successful labors, he 
was suddenly called to his heavenly rest. 
That good man died in March, 1829. He 
seemed to be in a very calm and sweet frame 
of mind during his illness, declaring to the 
last, his unshaken confidence in Christ, and 
entire willingness to die. He had the happi- 
ness of receiving two of his children into the 
church before his death ; two of his sons died 
nearly the same time that he did. 

Mrs. P. What became of his afflicted 
wife ? 

Mr. C. P. She returned with her chil- 
dren to her former residence in New York. 

Talbot. What have the Indians done since 
without a minister, or any one to instruct 
them ? 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



109 



Mr. C. P. Soon after the death of their 
beloved and honored minister, they sent a 
warm petition to the Board, requesting them 
to send another missionary. Rev. Cutting 
Marsh was very soon selected ; he was a 
young minister, who had recently left the 
Theological Seminary at Andover, Mass. 
Mr. Ambler, a gentleman well qualified to 
teach, and who had some knowledge of medi- 
cine, had joined the mission some time before 
Mr. Miner's death. He continued to labor 
alone after Mr. Miner's death, till the arrival 
of Mr. Marsh. 

Cornelia. Did he get up a school ? 

Mr. C. P. Yes, and procured forty schol- 
ars, about thirty of whom attended regularly. 

Mrs. C. Would it not be well to employ 
a female teacher, to learn them the use of the 
needle, wheel, and loom ? 

Mr. C. P. There was a female school, 
taught by a young Indian woman for a time, 
but she (fid not teach spinning, Sic. 

Mrs. C. Was she a suitable teacher? 

Mr. C. P. I never saw her, but I was 
informed by a gentleman who visited her 
school, that she appeared as well in the 
school, and probably was as well qualified to 
instruct in the common branches of education 
and in needle work, as the ordinary female 



110 GREEN BAY MISSION. 



teachers in our white settlements. He said, 
she seems an intelligent, ingenious, and re- 
fined young woman. 

Mr.' W. P. They have really made 
great advancement in civilization. 

Mr. C. P. Yes, they have given pretty 
conclusive evidence that Indians can be Chris- 
tianized and civilized. 

Cornelia. Why are they so unlike the 
other tribes ? 

Mr. C. P. They have been favored with 
the gospel longer than any other tribe with 
whom I am acquainted. In all their wander- 
ings, the gospel has followed them ; for more 
than a hundred years, they have had schools, 
though much of the time their teachers have 
belonged to the tribe. 

They have still in their possession a splen- 
did Bible, in two folio volumes ; its size two 
feet by eighteen inches, weighing forty pounds. 
It was printed in England, in 1717, and pre- 
sented to their tribe by the Rev. Dr. Ays- 
couth, one of the clerks of his Royal Highness, 
Frederick, Prince of Wales. 

Cornelia, A most valuable piece of anti- 
quity. 

Mr. C. Do tell us how much land this 
tribe owns ? 

Mr. C. P. They claim about seven miles 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



Ill 



in a direct line on the Fox river, and back as 
far as Lake Michigan, nearly forty miles. 

Mr. W. P. How large a number have 
already settled at Statesburgh. 

Mr. C. P. Something less than three 
hundred. Perhaps there remains in New 
York fifty or sixty more who may follow their 
brethren to the northwest. 

Talbot. Uncle, how came these Indians 
in possession of such a large tract of land ? 

Mr. C. P. It was purchased of the Me- 
nom-i-nies and Win-e-ba-goes who live around 
them, under the direction and with the sanc- 
tion of the government of the United States. 

Mr. C. Are those tribes numerous ? 

Mr. C. P. They are considerably so. 
The Me-nom-i-nies are friendly, but poor and 
debased. 

Jerome. What kind of people are the 
Win-e-ba-goes ? 

Mr, C. P. A wild, wandering tribe, 
stretching along throug+i the northern part of 
Illinois to the river Mississippi. They are 
much more fierce and hostile than the Me- 
nom-i-nies. 

Here Mrs. Summers and her daughters 
called in, and the conversation was interrupted 
till the evening. 



112 



GREEK BAY MISSION. 



CHAPTER II. 

" Indulgent Sovereign of the skies. 

And wilt thou bow thy gracious ear ? 
While feeble mortals raise their cries, 
Wilt thou, the great Jehovah, hear ? 

Loud let the gospel trumpet blow, 

And call the nations from afar ! 
Let all the tribes their Saviour know, 

And earth's remotest ends draw near." 

Tn the evening, Jerome asked his uncle to 
finish the remarks he was making when they 
were interrupted by company. 

Mr. C. P. I was then about to tell you 
that there was a grand exhibition of a war 
dance, last summer, at Green Bay. 

Jerome. Were the Stockbridge Indians 
engaged in war, under 

Mr. C. P. No ; but there were some 
difficulties between the New York Indians, 
and their neighbors the Me-nom-i-nies, and 
Win-e-ba-goes, which required the atteution 
of government, and commissioners were sent 
to Green Bay, empowered by the President 
of the United States to rectify what was 
wrong between the parties. Soon after their 
arrival, a council of chiefs, on both sides, was 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 113 



called. At the appointed time, an immense 
throng assembled to witness the proceedings 
of the convention, and enjoy themselves. 

Mrs. P. How could they find much en- 
joyment, with such accommodations as they 
must have had ? 

Mr. C. P. It matters very little where 
the wild Indians are, for those who live near 
navigable waters, usually take their houses 
and furniture into the canoe with them, wher- 
ever they go ; so that^in three or four hours 
after they land, they are as much at home as 
they ever are. 

Cornelia. I suppose they brought their 
food with them, when they attended the con- 
vention. 

Mr. C. P. No ; it is customary for gov- 
ernment, on such occasions, to give out 
daily rations as long as the session lasts, to all 
who attend, whether chiefs, warriors, women 
or children. Of course, a council called by 
government, is sure to be well attended. 

Mr. C. How many, do you suppose, at- 
tended the one you are speaking of. 

Mr. C. P. I think there must have been 
more than two thousand, as many as fifteen* 
hundred of whom were Me-nom-i-nies ; about 
an equal proportion of the rest were New York 
Indians, Win-e-ba-goes, and Chippeways. 
10 



114 GREtiN BAY MISSION. 



The New York Indians being composed of 
the remnants of several distinct tribes, and 
each tribe being allowed a given number of 
chiefs and great men, who took part in the 
business of the council, they furnished the 
largest number of delegates, or representa- 
tives, the Me-nom-i-nies the next largest, and 
the Win-e-ba-goes the fewest. In the whole 
there were thirty chiefs, who marched to the 
arbor or booth which had been erected for 
the accommodation of vkte council to meet the 
commissioners. They were all seated under 
the shady canopy in due order, ready to at- 
tend to business ; while the crowd of specta- 
tors clustered around to hear and see the 
result. 

Mr. C. How did the commonalty appear ? 

Mr. C. P. Some of them were naked, 
others had a blanket hanging loosely from 
their waist. But very few of them looked as 
if they had ever been washed or combed in 
all their lives. Most had feathers in their 
hair, of one kind or other ; some one, others 
two, and a few nearly twenty. 

Jerome. Did they stand up or sit down ? 
' Mr. C. P. They were in almost every 
possible position, sitting, lying, leaning, stand- 
ing—all having pipes, from four inches to four 
feet in length, with a tobacco pouch, and a 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



115 



knife hung to a leather girdle about the waist. 

Mr. TV. P. And all painted, 1 presume. 

Mr. C. P. To be sure ; they were 
daubed with paints of every tint and shade 
imaginable. The faces of some were painted 
one side jet black, the other scarlet, besides 
the most horrible figures over their bodies 
that you ever saw. 

Mrs. P. Brother, you are not describing 
the Oneida or Stockbridge Indians, I trust. 

Mr. C. P. No, they would appear res- 
pectable anywhere, and contrasted with their 
wild brethren, they appeared like a superior 
order of beings. 

Talbot. Did they enter upon business 
after the manner of our courts I 

Mr. C. P. No ; after they were all seat- 
ed, a pipe was lighted and carried to the 
commissioners. After they had smoked a 
few whiffs, it was successively passed to each 
chief, who smoked in token of friendship and 
good will. 

Jerome. When did they have their war 
dance, uncle ? 

Mr. C. P. During the session of the 
council. 

Mr. C. What was their object ? 
Mr. C. P. To amuse and gratify the 
strangers and citizens who were present. 



116 GREEN BAY MISSION. 



The Indians are such perfect masters of the 
art of pantomime, that a spectator of a war 
dance can ascertain to a certainty the import 
of all their wild and savage movements, equally 
as well as if they explained it by words. 

Jerome. Do they have music at these 
dances ? 

Mr. C. P. Yes, such as it is, both vocal 
and instrumental. 

Cornelia. What are their favorite instru- 
ments of music ? 

Mr. C. P. They have one of their own 
invention, somewhat like a flageolet — the mu- 
sic *of which is touching beyond anything I 
ever heard ; but the most popular instrument 
is a kind of bass drum, which they make 
themselves at short notice out of an old keg 
or a hollow log. 

Jerome. How could they make a drum 
out of an old keg, uncle ? 

Mr. C. P. By knocking out the heads, 
$nd stretching over a wet deer skin. They 
use but one drum stick, which they whittle 
out in two minutes, 

Delia. Are the war dances anything like 
the dances at balls and assemblies in this, 
country ? 

Mr. 0. P. Not like any I ever saw, 
Delia. Uncle, do describe one. 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



117 



Mr. C. P. When the council have de- 
cided on going to war, the warriors who have 
pledged themselves to support it, seat them- 
selves upon the ground in a circle with the 
musicians, and then proceed to obtain soldiers, 
or as we should say, enlist them, by laying 
some weapon at a little distance, which is the 
challenge ; and whoever goes and takes it up, 
stands engaged to support the war resolved on 
by the council. All this is acted out in the 
war dance. They had two war dances last 
summer at Green Bay ; the first by the Win- 
e-ba-goes, which met with so much applause 
that the Me-nom-i-nies immediately attempted 
to outdo them. In consequence of this spirit 
of rivalry, doubtless both parties put forth all 
their power and skill to give impressive repre- 
sentations. 

Mr. C. It must have been very amusing ; 
I should like to hear about it. 

Mr. C. P. Their movements are regula- 
ted by the leader of the dance, who gives a 
flourish as a token for the performers to com- 
mence. In a moment they " begin — drum- 
ming, singing, shouting, yelling, dingling of 
metallic rods — at one time running a sort of 
chant in a low bass monotony, then suddenly 
passing a wild disjointed interval into a sharp 
scream, which makes the Indian yell or war* 
10* 



118 GREEN BAY MISSION. 



whoop. The whoop sounds like the shrill 
scream of a woman in a fright, made trem- 
ulous by the mechanical play of the fingers on 
the lips, and is repeated by all the dancers 
every two or three minutes, and seems to be 
a kind of letting off, or explosion of the high- 
est possible degree of excitement. It is start- 
ling and frightful beyond description, breaking 
as it does, unexpectedly from a multitude of 
voices. Even though one has heard it a 
thousand times in succession, in the same 
dance, it always comes unexpected. The 
changes of the voices are so sudden and 
violent, so different from the low and monot- 
onous movement which precedes and fol- 
lows, and altogether so unearthly, that you 
involuntarily tremble and shudder." 

Cornelia. What a spectacle ! I should 
hardly have courage to behold it. 

Delia. Uncle, what did the dancers wear ? 

Mr. C. P. Not anything ; their bodies 
were naked, except the covering of paint, put 
on in the most disgusting and horrid figures, 
and a sort of feathered crown upon their 
heads. As they darted backwards and for- 
wards, brandishing their death weapons, they 
seemed more like demons than men. It is 
impQssible to give you an idea of their fierce 
and wild look, as their horrid whoop and yell 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



119 



escapes their lips. When they reach the 
point of enlistment, the din and clamor of the 
dancers increase — the weapon glitters on the 
ground, an individual steps forward, looks at 
it, and as he dances wildly about, points at it, 
but looks unwilling to touch it, showing by his 
gestures, that thoughts of kindred, home, and 
friends, rush upon his mind, with the sacrifices 
and dangers he must endure if he goes to the 
battle. The shouting and yelling become 
louder and louder — he draws nearer, then 
retreats, again advances, dances round and 
round the instrument of slaughter and death — 
reaches forth a hand to grasp it, — starts back 
as if restrained by some painful thought, — 
once more he presses forward, and making a 
sudden and desperate plunge, grasps the 
weapon and lifts himself erect. Then in an 
instant shouts of exultation rend the air. 
The music continues while he silently acts 
over all the feats of discovering, shooting, and 
scalping the enemy. 

After he has placed the weapon in the spot 
from where he took it, his part is finished, 
and he quietly seats himself with the group 
already pledged to the war. The same is 
acted over and over by others, till the ranks 
of war are filled. 

Mr. C. I have often read of war dances, 
10** 



120 GREEN BAY MISSION. 



but I never felt before as if I had seen one. 
Their strength must be prodigious. 

Mr. P. Their muscular strength is so 
great, that when under a high degree of ex- 
citement they have become frantic, one man 
will make the ground tremble round him, as 
well as under his feet. 

Jerome. How long do they continue their 
dances ? 

Mr. C. P. Sometimes a whole night. 

Mr. W. P. What a contrast there must 
have been between this scene, and the one on 
the Sabbath among the Christian Indians. 

Mrs. P. Yes, heathenism and Christianity 
were finely contrasted. I think it must have 
awakened deeper interest for missions in the 
breast of every beholder. 

Mr. C. P. I find the public are daily 
becoming more interested in behalf of the 
missions at the North West. The route to 
Green Bay is getting to be quite a fashionable 
one. 

Mr. C. An excursion to the lakes must 
be a very pleasant one in the summer. 

Mr. C. P. And a visit to our missionary 
stations in that quarter, will gratify every 
friend of humanity, as well as every friend of 
Christ. 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



121 



Mrs. P. I wish to hear in what condition 
Mr. Marsh found the church and congrega- 
tion, when he arrived. 

Mr. C. P. Mr. Ambler had been in fee- 
ble health and was obliged to leave, and the 
Indians had suffered a great deal from sick- 
ness. Dr. Foot, of the garrison, manifested 
much Christian sympathy and kindness, in 
rendering professional aid, and furnishing med- 
icine gratuitously, in their trouble. 

Cornelia. Who supplied the place of Mr. 
Ambler ? 

Mr. C. P. Mr. Stevens, and his wife, who 



Marsh. Mrs. Stevens attends to the house- 
hold concerns, and Mr. Stevens instructs in 
the school. 

Cornelia. How large is it at this time ? 

Mr. C. P, Last summer they had forty- 
five children in the week-day school, and 
about the same number jn the Sabbath school, 
which is very interesting. 

Mrs. P. How large is the church ? 

Mr. C. P. There were between forty 
and fifty members, several months ago, and 
more were expected to come forward about 
this time. In this church are many persons 
of deep and ardent piety, and they generally 
appear sincerely attached to the great truths 



are now settled in the 




house with Mr. 



122 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



of the gospel. Surrounded with evil exam- 
ples, and tempted strongly to drink whiskey, 
some have fallen, but have returned with ap- 
parent humility and penitence. 

Mrs. P. How are their religious services 
conducted upon the Sabbath ? 

Mr. C. P. They usually have a sermon 
in English in the forenoon, and in the after- 
noon it is interpreted. Though the people 
understand English preaching and can read 
English books, yet they understand their own 
language better, and commonly speak it in 
their daily intercourse with each other. To- 
wards evening, they have a meeting at their 
own houses, similar to our conference meet- 
ings, carried on principally by themselves. 

In the course of the week, they have two 
other meetings, one for reading and expound- 
ing Scripture, the other a church conference. 

Since they formed a Temperance Society, 
that subject has deeply interested them, and 
its restraints have exerted a salutary influence 
over their whole community. 

Mr. C. It is not confined to the church, 
then, I presume. 

Mr. C. P. No. it embraces all the lead- 
ing men and women of the tribe. It is with 
the Indians just as it is with us, where tempe- 
rance prevails, the people are industrious, or- 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



123 



derly, and comparatively happy. And those 
who yield to temptation, are miserable and 
degraded. 

Cornelia. You mentioned the sickness, 
uncle ; what occasioned it ? 

Mr. C. P. 1 do not know ; Green Bay 
is a remarkably healthy place. Our mission 
house stands in a healthy spot, upon the banks 
of the river, and the land around rather ele- 
vated. The sickness prevailed most among 
young children, a number of whom died ; but 
I do not recollect any deaths of grown per- 
sons, except Captain Hendricks and his dauglv 
ter Betsy. 

Delia. What ailed them ? 

Mr. C. P. Betsy died of a consumption, 
and her father was aged, and had been very 
intemperate. 

Cornelia. Were either of them pious ? 

Mr. C. P. The daughter gave the most 
comfortable evidence of genuine piety, being 
always patient and resigned. Though her 
sufferings were great and long continued, she 
would say, "Itjs all right, because God does 
it." Her whole thoughts seemed to be upon 
religion. She faithfully warned all those who 
were about her to flee from the wrath to 
come, and pointed them to Christ for pardon 
and safety. Her father died three or four 



124 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



days before she did, being more than seventy 
years of age. He was a descendant of the 
royal family of chiefs, and for a long time 
the head chief of the nation. General Wash- 
ington gave him a Captain's commission in 
the United States' army, and he was present 
at the taking of General Burgoyne, and ren- 
dered important service to the country. He 
had a strong mind and was considered one of 
the most able counsellors and speakers the 
nation ever produced. 

Mr. P. What were his views at the ap- 
proach of death ? 

Mr. C. P. He spoke of his intemperate 
habits with deep regret, and lamented that he 
had so long neglected the concerns of his 
soul. 

Cornelia. O how melancholy ! 

Mrs. P. His case is melancholy indeed ; 
but there are many such, even among our- 
selves. 

Mr. C. P. True, but the condition of 
those who live and die impenitent under the 
full blaze of gospel light, seems more dread- 
ful to me, than even that of the heathen. 

Mr. W. P. I believe the doom of the un- 
godly from Christian lands, will be harder to 
bear, than that of those from pagan countries. 
Is there nothing we can do, brother, to bring 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



125 



the gospel into contact with those savage tribes 
that were engaged in the war-dance ? 

Mr. C. P. Yes, brother ; we can pray 
and give money, if we can do nothing else. 
Their moral condition is very deplorable ; a 
missionary said, "I know not of a single 
Christian among all the * Me-riom-i-nies or 
Win-e-ba-goes ; they are all in pagan dark- 
ness ; and intemperance, like a mighty river, 
is bearing them onward upon its fiery bosom, 
to eternity." 

Mrs. P. The Stockbridge church must, 
in that dark region, literally be a " light shin- 
ing in a dark place." 

Mr. C. P. It is so ; and the rays would 
be brighter and more numerous, if Christians 
would increase their prayers and alms. 

Mrs. C. How many persons are attached 
to the Green Bay Mission ? 

Mr. C. P. The Rev. Mr. Marsh is the 
missionary pastor, and his helpers are Mr. 
and Mrs. Stevens. This little establishment 
is conducted in the most judicious and eco- 
nomical manner, all concerned in it being fru- 
gal, self-denying, and laborious persons. To 
convince you that I arn not singular in my 
views on the importance of missionary zeal 
and efforts to bring the heathen Indians to 
f* sit at the feet of Jesus clothed and in their 



126 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



right minds," I will read an extract from a 
letter written by a gentleman the day after 
attending public worship with the Stockbridge 
tribe, last summer, and this extract will close 
my account of the Green Bay mission. 

(Reads.) " While listening to the songs of 
Zion, so sweetly uttered by these children of 
the forest last evening, accompanied with all 
its associations, I found myself repeatedly and 
involuntarily exclaiming within myself, 8 Have 
I lived so long, and enjoyed so many privi- 
leges, to come here, where it is supposed no 
such privileges are had, to be raised in feel- 
ing nearer to heaven than I ever found myself 
before ?' Many times did I think in the midst 
of the scenes brought before me yesterday, 
could the whole Christian world see and hear 
this, they would forget all else they were 
doing, and run, and come bending, like the 
angels of heaven, who delight in errands of 
mercy, over these persecuted children of the 
wilderness, and never leave them, till they 
were all converted to Christ. It would open 
their hearts and all their treasures, and noth- 
ing would be wanting to advance and con- 
summate so benevolent a design." 

Mr. C. I think I can never forget the 
poor, ignorant, neglected Indians, for I feel 
thoroughly convinced that Indian reform is 

BC 1 0 5 



GREEN BAY MISSION. 



127 



practicable, and feel it a solemn duty to en- 
gage heartily in the great and good work. 

Mr. W. P. Brother Claiborne, you are 
at last brought to the very point where I 
have so long been praying to see you ; and 
He that has begun, I trust, will carry on this 
work, till you, and through your prayers and 
efforts, many lost heathen, will one day " sit 
together in heavenly places." 

Delia. Cousin Cornelia, will you not at- 
tend our missionary meeting to-morrow, and 
tell us something new and interesting ? 

Cornelia. 1 will cheerfully attend, but 
what can I tell more interesting than to repeat 
what uncle Pelham has told us about the 
missions at Mackinaw and Green Bay ? 

Delia. Perhaps you cannot tell us any- 
thing better, but we have heard all about 
these missions, and can tell a good story con- 
cerning them after you go home. Now, if 
you will give an account of a station that will 
be new to us and to others, you will make 
me very happy. 

Jerome. And me too, cousin. 

Cornelia. What shall I tell them, uncle ? 

Mr. C. P. I presume you are acquainted 
with the progress of the Indian missions in 
the State of New York, and the one at Mau- 
mee, in Ohio. 



128 



GREEN BAY MISSION, 



Cornelia. Yes, uncle, I am. 

Mr. C. P. Very wejl — then take them 
up in course ; you will find the children will be 
highly entertained with the history of each. 

Talbot. O what a good uncle ! 

Jerome and Delia. And what a good, kind 
cousin ! 

Mr. C. P. Come, do let us once more 
sing together* 

Mr. C. What shall we sing ? 

Mr, C. P. What sister Pelham likes best. 

Mrs. P. Then it must be the " Star of 
Bethlehem." (All sing.) 

Once on the raging seas I rode, 

The storm was loud, the night was dark, 

The ocean yawn'd, and rudely blow'd 
The wind that toss'd my foundering bark. 

Deep horror then my vitals froze, 

Death struck, I ceas'd the tide to stem ; 

W r hen suddenly a star arose, — 
It was the Star of Bethlehem. 

It was my light, my guide, my all, 

It bade my dark forebodings cease ; 
And through the storm and danger's thrall* 

It led me to the port of peace. 

Now safely moor'd — my perils o'er, 

I'll sing, first in night's diadem, 
Forever and forevermore, 

The Star— the Star of Bethlehem. 




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